Bickersons back on short rest

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Last fall, Bickersons finished 10th of 12 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita, but came back 16 days later to win the Moccasin Stakes at Hollywood Park.

Trainer Kelly Breen is hoping a similar quick turnaround will result in another stakes victory as he plans to start Bickersons in next Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Cicada Stakes at Aqueduct. The Cicada, for 3-year-old fillies, comes just two weeks after Bickersons finished fourth as the favorite in the Grade 2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park.

Two days after the Davona Dale, Breen put Bickersons on a van from Florida to New York along with Nacho Friend, a 3-year-old colt who was scheduled to run in Saturday's Gotham.

"She shipped in, went to the track yesterday and today, and seems okay," Breen said Friday morning. "The trip and the race may have knocked her out just a touch, but I don't see any reason she shouldn't run. I have enough time for her get over it. I haven't seen her regressing or not eating."

Bickersons was sent off the favorite in the one-mile Davona Dale, based on her dominant seven-length victory in the Grade 2 Forward Gal at Gulfstream on Jan. 31. All three of Bickersons's victories have come in races at seven furlongs or shorter. The Cicada is at six furlongs.

Breen said the chance to run in a graded sprint stakes is part of the reason he would like to start Bickersons in the Cicada. He did say that if the filly shows any signs of regression that she would not run and instead wait for the Beaumont at Keeneland on April 7.

"Right now she seems to be showing every sign that we're running," said Breen, who added that Joe Bravo is scheduled to come up and ride.

Others pointing to the Cicada include Female Drama, Indian Burn, Romantic Hideaway, Seaside Fortune, and possibly Gator Prowl and Liam's Dream.