Alpine Princess gets class relief but deals with wet track in Top Flight
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The competition is certainly less salty than her last start. Now it might just be a matter of whether Alpine Princess can handle an off track when she runs in Saturday’s $150,000 Top Flight Stakes at Aqueduct.
In her most recent start, the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park, Alpine Princess finished fourth, beaten 10 lengths by reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna. There is no one of that caliber in the Top Flight, which drew six but may only go with five. Trainer Chad Brown has Catherine Wheel cross-entered in Saturday’s Heavenly Cause Stakes at Laurel.
The Azeri was run over a wet track as was the 2024 Rachel Alexandra, where Alpine Princess finished fourth, nine lengths behind her stablemate Tarifa. There is a good chance the Top Flight will be contested over a wet track.
“I think it’s more about who she was running against as opposed to the surface,” Brad Cox, the trainer of Alpine Princess, said. “She was doing well leading up to [the Azeri]. We took a shot trying to pull an upset or be second and she just didn’t run as well as we thought.”
Alpine Princess returns to Aqueduct, where last November she was beaten a head by Pretty Ana in the Grade 3 Comely Stakes, like the Top Flight, run at 1 1/8 miles.
“She raced wide that day throughout and was narrowly defeated,” Cos said. “I thought she ran a great race, just didn’t come up with the result we were looking for.”
Alpine Princess will break from the rail under Florent Geroux, who has been aboard for three of the filly’s four wins.
Fade to Grey comes into the Top Flight off back-to-back allowance wins at Aqueduct, including one in the mud going 1 1/8 miles. In that race, Fade to Grey was pressed and passed by Points Is Points before winning the bob over that one. Those two finished 12 3/4 lengths clear of the rest of the field.
Trainer Chad Brown entered Headline Numbers and Catherine Wheel in the Top Flight. As of Thursday, he wasn’t sure whether Catherine Wheel would run in New York or Maryland, but he will definitely run Headline Numbers in the Top Flight.
Headline Numbers has yet to run a race as good as her first one, a one-mile maiden race here last July 4 that she won by 11 3/4 lengths. She comes off a runner-up finish in the Nellie Morse at Laurel in February.
“After she debuted and won we had quite high hopes for her and she’s been a bit disappointing,” Brown said. “She hasn’t broke through and become the horse we thought she would. She trains far better than she’s been running, but she’s had success at Aqueduct.”
Elliptic, trained by Amelia Green, comes off a New York-bred second-level allowance win going a mile in her first start after being claimed for $25,000. Miss Spitfire, trained by Fernando Abreu, comes off a win for maiden $35,000 claiming over Gulfstream’s synthetic at Gulfstream.
Chancer McPatrick sick after Blue Grass
Chancer McPatrick, who finished in a dead-heat for sixth as the favorite in Tuesday’s Blue Grass Stakes, came out of the race with a fever, trainer Chad Brown said.
“He had a 102 [degree] temperature and his bloodwork was off, definitely sick,” Brown said. “He’ll be out of training at least a week until we get his bloodwork right.”
Brown said he had a lot of horses get sick this winter in Florida. Hill Road was kept out of the Wood Memorial after developing a fever when he shipped from Payson Park to New York.
Brown had no immediate plan for Chancer McPatrick, who at 2 won the Hopeful and Champagne, both Grade 1 stakes run around one turn.
◗ Flavien Prat will ride Gazelle winner Ballerina d’Oro in the Kentucky Oaks, trainer Chad Brown said.
Dylan Davis rode Ballerina d’Oro to victory in the Gazelle, but he is committed to ride La Cara, winner of the Grade 1 Ashland, in the Oaks.
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