Catalano has 'Liz' good to go

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Liz on Polk Street wouldn't have been able to keep up with her mother, the Grade 1-winning mare Silver Maiden, and in two Grade 3 stakes tries she has finished fourth and seventh. But Liz on Polk Street has enough ability - and the right running style - to win the Fit for a Queen Stakes on Saturday at Arlington.

The Fit for a Queen is a $40,000 overnight race, and that is the sort of class level where has thrived. In her last start, three weeks ago at Hawthorne, she beat horses of similar quality by almost four lengths, and a sharp half-mile workout here Sunday suggest Liz on Polk Street will hold her form.

The six-furlong Fit for a Queen drew nine fillies and mares. Come post time, Liz on Polk Street should be favored over , both of whom are good enough to win. Silver Crown, however, did poorly at the post-position draw; she breaks from the rail, and may be forced to the lead right out of the gate. That could spark a pace duel with Pass the Pepper, who has led at the first call almost every time she has raced. My Ro, in from Kentucky for trainer Dale Romans, and Liz on Polk Street should race in the second flight, just behind the front-runners.

"It looks to me like she can sit back and finish," said Wayne Catalano, who trains Liz on Polk Street for her owner-breeder, Frank Calabrese.

Calabrese is prone to changing trainers, and Liz on Polk Street has started for four of them. With other barns, she has won 1 of 5 starts: for Catalano, Liz on Polk Street is 4 for 5. Catalano's less-is-more approach works well for the filly. He rarely breezes his horses quickly, nor are they ground down through tough daily gallops.

"She's a light-made filly, and if you're not careful she can go the wrong way," said Catalano. "She worked real easy the other day."

My Ro won her first four starts, but has since lost three straight while starting just twice in the last 14 months. Silver Crown finished eighth on grass in her most recent race, but before that had turned in a strong effort finishing second to the good mare Souris in the Pan Zareta Handicap at Fair Grounds.