Aurelia's Belle could give Catalano third Pucker Up win
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Wayne Catalano won the Pucker Up Stakes last year with I’m Already Sexy and in 2007 with Dreaming of Anna, and Catalano could be favored to land a third Pucker Up on Saturday at Arlington with Aurelia’s Belle.
Aurelia’s Belle possesses the requisite credentials to win the Grade 3, $150,000 Pucker Up, but the closer one looks at the race, the deeper it starts to feel.
Nine 3-year-old fillies are entered in the 1 1/8-mile grass race, and some sort of plausible win case could be made for seven of them. Aurelia’s Belle holds appeal because she already has proven that she can stay the Pucker Up’s nine furlongs, and because she was placed first in her only previous start on turf.
That came June 14 in the Regret Stakes at Churchill, where Aurelia’s Belle finished second but was placed first when A Little Bit Sassy was disqualified for deep-stretch interference. Aurelia’s Belle returned in the Arlington Oaks, a Polytrack race, in which she opened a big midstretch lead and saw off Stellaris, another Pucker Up runner.
While Aurelia’s Belle trained at Arlington awaiting the Pucker Up, Stellaris traveled to Del Mar and won a photo finish for second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Oaks, won easily by Personal Diary. It was a strangely decent performance. Stellaris drifted out while wide into the homestretch and appeared to be running in place before kicking in late.
“I didn’t know what was happening,” trainer Mike Stidham said. “I saw her go out to the middle of the racetrack and look like she was done.”
Final Redemption flew here from the East Coast on Thursday for trainer Graham Motion and displayed talent in winning her career debut, a Belmont sprint, and finishing second over one mile at Saratoga in the restricted Tenski Stakes.
“She’s always been a filly that’s done everything well,” said Motion.
Trainer Tom Proctor, who won the 2012 Pucker Up with Marketing Mix, has two potentially live runners, Sistas Stroll and V V Goodnight. Sistas Stroll is 2 for 2 on grass and comfortably beat older first-level allowance foes over nine furlongs last out at Del Mar. V V Goodnight probably would have won her division of the Aug. 17 Hatoof Stakes with a better trip.
Key contenders
Aurelia’s Belle (Last 3 Beyers: 86-86-67)
* Raced in screens two starts back and in blinkers last out, and the equipment changes seem to have helped the filly.
* 4-0-1-2 on dirt, Aurelia’s Belle is a combined 4 for 4 on Polytrack and turf.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Catalano has a surprisingly tame two wins from 11 starts (just three in-the-money finishes) in Arlington turf-route stakes over the last five years.
Final Redemption (Last 2 Beyers: 83-76)
* Tries nine furlongs for the first time but ran her final quarter in a one-mile stakes last out in just over 22 seconds.
“I’d imagine she’d handle the distance,” trainer Motion said.
* Motion surprisingly is 0 for 10 at Arlington since he won two races during the 2009 meet.
V V Goodnight (Last 3 Beyers: 79-76-82)
* Finishes as well as anyone in the race and was the best horse last out in the Hatoof, in which she was strangled back to last behind a false pace before finishing fast.