Alpine Princess stretches in Comely after romp in return

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In recent years, the Remington Park Oaks has served as a coming-out party for some fillies who would go on to achieve greater success. Winners such as She’s a Julie, Envoutante, and Honor D Lady went on to win one or more graded stakes after their Remington success.

The connections of Alpine Princess hope something similar lay ahead for the daughter of Classic Empire, who starts as the likely favorite in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Comely Stakes at Aqueduct.

Alpine Princess, trained by Brad Cox for Full of Run Racing and Madaket Stable, returned from a six-month layoff with a dominant 9 3/4-length victory in the Remington Oaks on Sept. 29. Visually dominant and relatively fast that night, Alpine Princess raced wide throughout and was not vigorously ridden by Florent Geroux. She earned a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I don’t know what she beat at Remington, but it was impressive,” Cox said. “The figures backed it up. If she runs a similar number, she should be in the mix.”

Alpine Princess is a two-time winner at 1 1/16 miles, but this will be her first try at 1 1/8 miles.

“She’s not a big filly. She’s a really good mover, got a good stride to her. I’m hopeful she can handle the mile and an eighth,” Cox said.

Manny Franco rides Alpine Princess from post 3.

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There are seven 3-year-old fillies entered in the Comely, three from the barn of Todd Pletcher.

At 2, Life Talk won the Grade 2 Demoiselle going 1 1/8-miles at Aqueduct. She is coming off a late-running second behind stablemate Miss Justify in the Seneca Overnight Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 21 at Churchill.

“I thought it was an excellent effort. She was really closing well late,” Pletcher said. “She’s already proven she likes a mile and an eighth at Aqueduct. She’s coming into it in good order. Hopefully, she’ll make a little move forward off the last one.”

Pletcher trains Life Talk and Scalable for Mike Repole. Scalable won the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks, beating Gun Song. Both fillies came back in the Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx Racing, with Gun Song coming within a neck of upsetting Thorpedo Anna and Scalable finishing sixth.

“Nothing seemed to go right for her that day. Paco [Lopez] said she hated the track, for whatever that’s worth,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully, she can run back to her Monmouth Oaks form.”

Audacious, a daughter of Into Mischief owned by Bass Stable, has two wins from four starts and is coming off a runner-up performance in a second-level allowance Oct. 23 at Keeneland.

Pretty Ana, trained by Chad Brown, was a late-running third behind Tarifa in the Grade 2 Mother Goose. She got pinched back to last early on and was farther out of it than planned.

Dorothy’s Dreams, fourth, beaten three-quarters of a length at 34-1 in the Mother Goose, and Just Music, who has a 0-3-1 record from four starts at 1 1/8 miles, complete the field.

The Comely, goes as race 9 on a 10-race card that begins at 11:40 a.m.

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