Calder: Wolfson has half the field in U Can Do It

MIAMI − The $350,000 Princess Rooney Handicap in July is the only Grade 1 race on the Calder stakes schedule. Eight locally based fillies and mares will try to earn their way into the Princess Rooney here with a big performance in the U Can Do It Handicap, one of four stakes to be decided on Saturday’s Summit of Speed Preview card.

The U Can Do It is one of 12 races on the program, which also includes the Ponche Handicap, Leave Me Alone Stakes, and Unbridled Stakes. All four races carry purses of $75,000, will be decided at six furlongs, and are preps for graded stakes to be run on the July 9 Summit of Speed card.

Four of the eight horses entered for the U Can Do It reside in the barn of trainer Marty Wolfson. The group is led by former claimer Bella Moneta who was beaten a nose by Musical Romance in the Ema Bovary Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs here May 22. She will carry high weight of 121 pounds and will be joined by stablemates Indulgence, who rallied belatedly to finish third in the Ema Bovary; Golden Mystery, 10th in the 2010 Princess Rooney; and Saintly Rose.

In the Ema Bovary, Bella Moneta was victimized by a slow start and early pace duel with Omi’s Vinciation, but she opened a long lead in early stretch before succumbing to Musical Romance in the final stride. Indulgence lagged well back, then finished best of all to finish just over a length farther back in third.

Golden Mystery has been freshened since finishing a tiring third after setting the early pace in the one-mile Ocala Stakes at Gulfstream Park on March 27. Leading rider Luis Saez will be aboard Golden Mystery, who has trained extremely well for her return.

Saintly Rose finished far back in the Ema Bovary while making her first start in nearly 10 months.

Musical Romance, who carries 120 pounds, will try to upset the Wolfson applecart again in the U Can Do It. A last-minute decision by trainer Bill Kaplan to run her in the Ema Bovary paid big dividends after she rallied down the center of the track to nail Bella Moneta on the money for her second career stakes victory. A versatile daughter of Concorde’s Tune, she also captured the Strikeadancer going a mile on the grass during the spring of her 3-year-old campaign.

“She beat most of these horses going 5 1/2 furlongs coming on, so why can’t she do it again going an extra half-furlong, which should be to her advantage?” Kaplan said. “Although Marty had one coming on pretty strong last time too(Indulgence) so she also should improve with the extra distance.”

Kaplan said Musical Romance would need to put in a similar effort in the U Can Do It to run back in the Princess Rooney.

“She’ll need to be finishing strong and either win or be close for me to run her in the next one,” he said. “If she can’t beat these horses, then she won’t have much chance against the northern horses that will be coming down here next month to run in a Grade 1.”