Brocknardini left as likely favorite in Tepin

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The scratch of Living Magic from Friday’s $120,000 Tepin Stakes opens the one-mile turf race for 2-year-olds up a bit from a wagering perspective and likely shifts favoritism to Brocknardini.

Living Magic, winner of the Chesley Flower Stakes here at 16-1 on Oct. 27, “spiked a fever on Monday and hasn’t responded to treatment,” trainer Phil Schoenthal said Wednesday, necessitating the scratch.

Another horse that is planning to scratch is Scorpia, who is cross-entered in a first-level allowance at Laurel Park on Friday, which is where she will run trainer Mark Salvaggio said Wednesday.

That would leave a field of seven for the Tepin.

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Brocknardini, a daughter of Palace Malice trained by George Weaver, has won 2 of 3 starts including the Selima Stakes at Laurel. In between that and her maiden win versus New York-breds at Saratoga, Brocknardini finished 12th of 13 in the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes, a race contested around one turn at Woodbine.

“The most likely scenario is she’s just a two-turn horse,” Weaver said. “It’s just a different race. The one-turn mile race plays a little faster, sprinters can actually do okay. She bounced back and ran big at Laurel.”

Summer of Fun, a filly Weaver campaigned in 2012-13, finished 10th in the Natalma Stakes and came back to run a strong third in the Grade 3 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland and third, at 43-1, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Weaver pre-entered Brocknardini for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, but the filly was five-deep on the preference list so Weaver didn’t ship her cross-country. Weaver also wasn’t thrilled with Brocknardini’s last work prior to the Breeders’ Cup.

“But she came back and worked well the other day with Irad, so we feel good about running her,” Weaver said.

Weaver was referring to Irad Ortiz Jr., who will be aboard Brocknardini on Friday. Ortiz rode Brocknardini to her debut victory at Saratoga on Aug. 2.

Memorialize, a daughter of Karakontie trained by Graham Motion, won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race at Saratoga nicely in her second start after an adventurous runner-up finish on debut at Colonial Downs. She disappointed at 5-2 in the Grade 2 Miss Grillo, finishing five lengths behind Hard to Justify, who came out of the Miss Grillo to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita two weeks ago.

Memorialize did have a wide trip in the Miss Grillo.

“She didn’t have a great trip, the ground was a little odd, we felt like we had a couple of excuses,” Motion said.

Being Betty, a New York-bred trained by Phil Serpe, is stretching out after winning a six-furlong maiden race here on Sept. 18. Though she is by the sprinter Weekend Hideaway, Being Betty is out of the dam Lady Joan, who won going long and who has thrown two stakes winners.

Gold Lightning, third in the Chelsey Flower after running sixth in the Miss Grillo, will try to replicate her effort from Aug. 31 when she won her debut at Saratoga at 14-1.

Awesome Czech, fifth in the Chelsey Flower after beating New York-bred maidens in her turf debut; the first-time starter Voter Registration, from the barn of Chad Brown; and the David Donk-trained debut winner Artemis Girl complete the field.

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