Christine Daae can break out in Bonnie Miss

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Amen Hallelujah was most impressive winning the Grade 2 Davona Dale by nearly seven lengths. Devil May Care is already a Grade 1 winner. But by sunset Saturday, the 3-year-old filly division may have a new star in Christine Daae.

That trio heads a small but solid field of six 3-year-old fillies set to contest 1 1/8 miles in the Grade 2, $200,000 Bonnie Miss Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The winner will establish herself as a major player for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on April 30.

Christine Daae came to south Florida this winter a maiden, having lost her debut at Hollywood Park by eight lengths. On Jan. 15, she cruised to an 8 3/4-length maiden victory going seven furlongs. Six weeks later, she rolled to a 2 3/4-length victory in a first-level allowance race after scratching out of the Davona Dale the previous day.

"The reason I changed my mind last time was, my main goal was this race Saturday," said Patrick Biancone, trainer of Christine Daae. "I saw no use to give a hard race three weeks before it, plus I think it's an edge to have run two turns."

Biancone said Christine Daae is "in the All Along category," referring to the 1983 Horse of the Year whom Biancone trained.

Against the likes of Amen Hallelujah and Devil May Care, Christine Daae is in for the toughest race of her life.

Amen Hallelujah won three of her first 7 starts, all on synthetic surfaces, before taking her game to another level on dirt, cruising to a 6 1/4-length victory in the Davona Dale, a one-turn mile. Amen Hallelujah is 0 for 2 around two turns, having run third twice.

"I'm not worried about two turns at all with her. She's done it," trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said. "She's better on the dirt. She's doing great. She's going to run huge. Somebody's going to have to pick up their game to beat us."

Dutrow confirmed Amen Hallelujah would run with one aluminum pad on a front foot to protect a frog, which is located on the bottom of a horse's foot and acts like a shock absorber.

Devil May Care, a half-brother to the graded stakes winner Regal Ransom, won the first two starts of her career including the Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont. After a disastrous trip in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Devil Mary Care made her 3-year-old debut in the Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds where she finished fifth of six as the 4-5 favorite.

"She misbehaved in the gate," said trainer Todd Pletcher. "They put tongs on her ears and tailed her, and she never got a chance to run her race at all. She's come back with a couple of good solid breezes, so we'll draw a line through that one and try again.''

Switch changes surfaces to dirt after winning one of three starts over synthetic surfaces. She finished third behind Amen Hallelujah in the Santa Ynez and third to Blind Luck, beaten one-half length, in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes.

"She's a real nice filly," trainer John Sadler said. "I kind of rushed her a little bit into a couple of the big races, and she handled it really well. I think she needed a little more spacing. We gave her the time. We started looking for races, and this looked like a pretty good spot."

Completing the field are Joanie's Catch, second in eight of 16 starts, including three stakes at this meet; and Danny's Friend.