Calder: Musical Romance will ship north for Gallant Bloom

MIAMI – Reigning Filly and Mare Sprint champion Musical Romance, idle since capturing the Grade 1 Princess Rooney Handicap over her home course at Calder on July 9, will make her next start a week from Saturday in Belmont Park’s Grade 2 Gallant Bloom.

Trainer Bill Kaplan, who also owns a half-interest in Musical Romance, said the decision to send Musical Romance to the 6 1/2-furlong Gallant Bloom came shortly after she worked five furlongs in 1:00.28 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.24 under regular rider Juan Leyva Wednesday morning at Calder.

“We really don’t have much choice but to send her to the Gallant Bloom the way she worked this morning,” said Kaplan. “She couldn’t have gone any better. Juan never asked her to run. If the work wasn’t absolutely perfect, we wouldn’t be going up there for that race next week.”

Musical Romance has been in regular training since the Princess Rooney but has worked only three times in preparation for the Gallant Bloom.

“Originally we wanted to run her in the Ballerina at Saratoga but we just couldn’t arrange suitable transportation from south Florida,” Kaplan said. “There were no flights, and I didn’t want to put her on a van for 27 hours during the heat of the summer. We have hired a private van to take her to New York on Friday for the Gallant Bloom. That trip is five hours shorter and it’s also a lot cooler now.”

Musical Romance, a 5-year-old daughter of Concorde’s Tune, sewed up division honors in 2011 with her 1 1/4-length triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. She has started five times this season, with victories in both the Princess Rooney and Grade 2 Inside Information at Gulfstream Park. She also finished a distant second behind current division leader Groupie Doll in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs.

“The goal is to get her back to the Breeders’ Cup,” said Kaplan. “She could have one more start after the Gallant Bloom prior to the Breeders’ Cup but we won’t make that decision until after her next race.”