Bank Sting, Maiden Beauty head rescheduled Heavenly Prize
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Bank Sting and Maiden Beauty were always scheduled to meet in a stakes race Sunday at Aqueduct. The only difference is the name – and purse – has changed.
Instead of the two mares meeting in the $100,000 Biogio’s Rose, a one-mile race restricted to New York-bred females, they will square off in the $125,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational, a one-mile race for open-company females at the same distance.
The Heavenly Prize was scheduled for Saturday, but did not have enough entrants to be carded. The Biogio’s Rose, scheduled for Sunday, also was light in entrants so basically this five-horse field is a combination of the two.
“I think the New York-breds stand out a little bit, me and Bank Sting,” said Robert Falcone Jr., trainer of Maiden Beauty.
Sharp Starr is a third New York-bred in the field.
Maiden Beauty won an open-company allowance going a mile here Dec. 19 and came back 11 days later to win the Bay Ridge Stakes for statebreds going 1 1/8 miles. She is best when able to dictate terms on the front end, something she will try to do Sunday under Kendrick Carmouche.
“I’m going to tell Kendrick to go, be aggressive and get the lead,” said Falcone, whose mare breaks from the outside post.
Bank Sting comes off wins in a New York Stallion Series race and the La Verdad, both at seven furlongs. Overall, she is 6 for 8 with five of those wins coming at Aqueduct. She came out of her narrow La Verdad victory with a quarter crack on a hind foot, but that issue seems behind her given her active work tab.
Bank Sting’s only bad race came in the Empire Distaff in October when she was coming off a layoff and caught an extremely sloppy track.
“She’s just a runner,” trainer John Terranova said. “She’s tough. She’s got that real grittiness to her. She’s going to give us a good, strong effort.”
It’s worth paying attention to how Bank Sting behaves in the paddock as she can be a bit temperamental.
Battle Bling was beaten just a neck by Maiden Beauty in an optional claimer Dec. 19. She was claimed out of that race by Rob Atras and Michael Dubb and came back Jan. 16 to narrowly win the Ladies going 1 1/8 miles.
“She made a big power move and then held them off,” Atras said. “I thought it was a pretty gritty effort. I was really proud of her. A little bit of time in between races I don’t think will hurt her, and I don’t think the cutback to a mile is going to be an issue, either. She’s got good tactical speed.”
Battle Bling breaks from post 3 under Trevor McCarthy.
Truth Hurts won the slower of two divisions of the Pumpkin Pie stakes in the slop on Oct. 31, but has been soundly beaten in her two subsequent starts.
The Heavenly Prize goes as race 7 on an eight-race card that begins at 1:20 p.m.