Bombshell, Sherini square off in Ladies Handicap

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With the multiple graded stakes winner Actress opting for a richer prize – likely the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic on Jan. 28 at Sam Houston – Sunday’s $100,000 Ladies Handicap affords seven fillies and mares the opportunity to capture a stakes and add their name to a lengthy list of winners of this once-prestigious race.

The Ladies, which will be run for the 147th time Sunday at Aqueduct, has been won by the likes of Beldame, Tempted, Top Flight, Shuvee, Maskette, and in 1928 by a horse named Twitter. The seven entered Sunday have yet to generate much social-media buzz, and only one, Inconclusive, has won a stakes race.

Bombshell and Sherini likely will vie for favoritism, and their connections believe the 1 1/8 miles and two-turn configuration of the Ladies should work in their favor.

Bombshell, trained by Jimmy Jerkens for Team Valor International, won a pair of two-turn races last summer at Delaware and Laurel. Her only try at 1 1/8 miles came in the Grade 1 Beldame Invitational, a one-turn race at Belmont won authoritatively by Elate.

Running in the Beldame was a last-minute decision, said Jerkens, who didn’t feel Bombshell was properly prepared to handle that task. Three weeks prior, Bombshell had run in a seven-furlong race at Laurel.

“That got her on her toes, and she was rank in the Beldame,” Jerkens said.

Coincidentally, Bombshell is coming off a well-beaten third-place finish in a seven-furlong race here Dec. 22.

“At least we’ve been able to train her properly. That should mean something,” said Jerkens, adding that the Ladies field is not as tough as was the Beldame.

Sherini came off a 15-month layoff to win a 1 1/16-mile allowance race by 1 1/4 lengths at Laurel on Dec. 2. Trainer Graham Motion said he’s been looking forward to running Sherini at 1 1/8 miles, the distance of her maiden win at Saratoga in 2016.

“As much as anything, she’s very one-paced, and she’ll appreciate the mile and an eighth, mile and a quarter,” Motion said.

Majestic Angel, Just Got Out, Crimson Frost, and Girl Talk complete the field.

KEY CONTENDERS

Sherini, by Bernardini
Last 3 Beyers: 71-74-82

◗ Came off a long layoff precipitated by an ankle injury to win a 1 1/16-mile allowance race from which runner-up Frisky Whiskey came back to win.

◗ She is a half-sister to four graded stakes winners, including Preakness winner Shackleford and Alabama winner Lady Joanne.

Bombshell, by Bellamy Road
Last 3 Beyers: 75-74-63

◗ Has had two-turn success, albeit out of town, and her pedigree suggests that 1 1/8 miles should be well within her scope.

◗ Had a solid half-mile breeze in 49.49 seconds over the Belmont training track on Tuesday.

Just Got Out, by Harlington
Last 3 Beyers: 83-66-77

◗ Though a question mark around two turns, she is coming off a four-length allowance win going a one-turn mile here two months ago, her ninth victory.