BC Juvenile Fillies Turf: Brown has strong contender in Lady Eli
Lady Eli gave trainer Chad Brown his third straight win in the Grade 3, $200,000 Miss Grillo at Belmont Park on Sunday, and Brown hopes she can give him a second win in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 31.
Brown won the inaugural running of the Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2008 with Maram, who was coming off a narrow win in the Miss Grillo. Maram paid $24.20 for her win in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Following her three-length win over 50-1 longshot Margaret Reay in the Miss Grillo, Lady Eli will be a much shorter price this year.
In fact, there is a strong chance that Lady Eli will be favored in the race. She did have a perfect trip Sunday, stalking an extremely slow pace, but she finished with an impressive burst of speed with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard. In her only other start, she overcame a rough trip to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight race at Saratoga on Aug. 24.
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Lady Eli might end up favored in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, but she might not be the best of the three horses Brown is planning to run in the one-mile race. While Lady Eli was getting a dream trip in the Miss Grillo, Tammy the Torpedo and Partisan Politics weren’t having much luck and finished third and fourth. Partisan Politics didn’t break that sharply and ended up sitting in 10th while the leaders couldn’t have been going any slower. Tammy the Torpedo looked like she was full of run early but was stuck on the rail, and by the time she was clear, it was too late.
Last year, Brown finished second in the Juvenile Fillies Turf with Testa Rossi, who was coming off a win in the Miss Grillo. The winner, Chriselliam, came from Britain and became the second straight European-based horse to win the Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Last Friday, Lucida earned an expenses-paid berth in the Juvenile Fillies Turf with a win in the Group 2 Shadwell Rockfel at Newmarket. However, trainer Jim Bolger said she was going to be pointed to next year’s English 1000 Guineas instead.
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It is still too early to know which European-based horses will make the trip to Santa Anita. This Sunday’s Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac-Criterium Des Pouliches at Longchamp could provide some clarity. In 2012, Flotilla came out of the Win and You’re In race to win the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Among the possible starters is the Aidan O’Brien–trained Found, who is coming off a third in the Group 1 Moyglare at The Curragh.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT:No. 3 Sunset Glow. Trainer Wesley Ward is 14-0-0-1 over the past five years going sprint to route in graded stakes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Isabella Sings. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 52-1-2-9 with a $0.13 ROI over past five years in Grade 1 stakes on the turf. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Sivoliere. Trainer Chad Brown is 4-2-0-1 with a $5.52 ROI over the past five years with 2-year-old shippers getting Lasix for the first time. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan