Aqueduct: Princess of Sylmar returns to her roots for Cat Cay

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It was at Aqueduct where Princess of Sylmar launched her path to stardom last winter, taking a pair of listed stakes over the inner track en route to becoming a multiple Grade 1 stakes winner.

So, then, it’s only apropos that Aqueduct is where Princess of Sylmar will kick off her 4-year-old campaign when she runs in Sunday’s $100,000 Cat Cay Stakes over Aqueduct’s main track.

“I think it’s awesome. I think that’s the best part,” Ed Stanco, owner of Princess of Sylmar, said about running at Aqueduct.

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The one-turn, one-mile race is the first for Princess of Sylmar since she ended her 3-year-old campaign on a sour note, a last-place finish behind Beholder in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff last November. Prior to that, Princess of Sylmar had reeled off four consecutive Grade 1 wins in the Kentucky Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama, and Beldame, where she defeated the two-time champion Royal Delta.

Princess of Sylmar got a break in Ocala, Fla., before rejoining trainer Todd Pletcher’s stable at Palm Meadows in early February. After five breezes at Palm Meadows, Princess of Sylmar shipped to New York and got in two more workouts over Belmont’s training track.

Asked if Princess of Sylmar is any different from last year, trainer Todd Pletcher said, “she’s maybe a little more aggressive than she used to be; with ones like her you’re not necessarily looking for improvement.”

Though most of her success last year was in races run around two turns, Princess of Sylmar showed in the Beldame that she could perform well in a one-turn race as well. The Beldame was 1 1/8 miles whereas the Cat Cay is a mile.

“I think it’ll be okay,” Pletcher said. “That was one of my concerns when she ran in the Beldame, how she’d handle the one turn part of it. She put herself in a good tactical spot that day. I don’t see it being an issue.”

The Cat Cay was put on this date to replace the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian, which is now May 11 at Belmont Park. The first major objective for Princess of Sylmar is the Grade 1, $1 million Ogden Phipps on Belmont Stakes Day, and a possible rematch with Beholder. Other races on Princess of Sylmar’s calendar this year will likely include the Delaware Handicap and Personal Ensign.

The Cat Cay is no walkover for Princess of Sylmar. She will have to face Wedding Toast, a daughter of Street Sense who ended her 3-year-old season with four consecutive victories, including a head victory in the Grade 3 Comely over Toasting.

Wedding Toast’s temperature spiked, which forced her to miss the Sabin at Gulfstream in February, but she has returned with a steady work tab since.

“It’s not about this race. It’s our starting point,” said Kiaran McLaughlin, who trains Wedding Toast for Godolphin Racing. “We’re happy to get going. Wish it was a Grade 2 or a Grade 3 but it is what it is; it’s a $100,000.

With Javier Castellano aboard Princess of Sylmar, Jose Lezcano will ride Wedding Toast. Lezcano won a maiden race on Wedding Toast last August.

McLaughlin was happy for Wedding Toast to draw post 6 because it not only allows Lezcano to see how things are developing in front of him, but “she’s not great in the gate and won’t be there too long.”

Villette, winner of three consecutive races for John Servis at Parx; Montana Native, winner of the Remington Park Oaks, and Flash Forward, who chased Teen Pauline in two stakes here this winter, complete the field.