Aqueduct: Princess of Sylmar returns with sharp win in Cat Cay

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Princess of Sylmar kicked off her 4-year-old campaign in style Sunday, splitting horses at the top of the stretch and drawing clear to a 3 1/2-length victory in the $100,000 Cat Cay Stakes at Aqueduct.

In running a mile in a sharp 1:34.79, Princess of Sylmar, under Javier Castellano, easily disposed of the graded stakes winner Wedding Toast, who had won her last four races at 3 and was also making her 4-year-old debut Sunday. Wedding Toast finished four lengths clear of third-place finisher Flash Forward.

“With the way she’d been training, she indicated to us she was as good as ever. We were expecting a good performance,” Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Princess of Sylmar, said. “I thought for this kind of race it came up pretty tough - [Wedding Toast] is a very good filly. We felt like we had her ready to run well. We tried not to overdo it knowing there’s a long season. There are bigger goals ahead so I think we were able to accomplish that.”

Princess of Sylmar was fourth of five early on as Highestmaintenance set the pace, chased by Montana Native and Wedding Toast through a half-mile in 45.61 seconds. Wedding Toast, under Jose Lezcano, made a three-wide move toward the leaders and Princess of Sylmar followed her, with Castellano opting to rally inside of Wedding Toast at the quarter pole. She kicked clear in the stretch and came in a final against-the-wind quarter of 25.15 seconds.

“She’s become a little more prominent early in the races than she was, kind of saw that for the first time in the Beldame,” Pletcher said. “She’s so adaptable. If they go slow she can be closer now. If they go fast she can settle.”

For Princess of Sylmar, who returned $3.20 to win, it was her ninth win from 12 career starts. She had reeled off four consecutive Grade 1 victories last year - the Kentucky Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama, and Beldame - before finishing last behind Beholder in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita.

Sunday’s race was being used as a prep for the $1 million Ogden Phipps at Belmont on June 7, a race that has been mentioned as an objective by the connections of Beholder.

Ed Stanco, who heads the King of Prussia Stable which owns Princess of Sylmar, said races he would like to make with Princess of Sylmar this year include the Delaware Handicap in July at Delaware Park and the Personal Ensign in August at Saratoga.

Neither Stanco nor Pletcher is keen on going back to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, which has a surface that Princess of Sylmar did not seem to care for last fall.

“That surface was really difficult and almost dangerous,” Stanco said Sunday. “She doesn’t have to prove that. She’s done so well here. There are some big, big races coming up as you know.”