Coastal Sea put to the test in Christiecat
ELMONT, N.Y. – After two eye-catching victories at Laurel Park this summer, Coastal Sea ships up to New York on Friday to make her stakes debut in the $100,000 Christiecat, the opening-day feature of the 38-day Belmont Park fall meet. The Christiecat is for 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs on turf.
Trained by Tim Keefe for owner Opal Eileen Paul, Coastal Sea overcame a slow start to win her debut by two lengths July 2. Three weeks later, in an allowance race, she overcame some traffic, split horses, and recorded another two-length victory. Under Angel Cruz, she covered 5 1/2 furlongs in a course-record 1:01.00.
“Second start we tried to teach her a little something, so I asked Angel to sit behind horses, and she had all kinds of traffic,” Keefe said. “I don’t know how she found that hole and got through there.”
Keefe said he was looking for a second-level allowance race in which to run Coastal Sea, but one at Laurel did not fill.
“I did like the spot at Belmont because it’s straight 3-year-old fillies,” Keefe said. “She’s certainly run well enough and trained well enough to give her a shot.”
There does appear to be ample pace in the field to set up Coastal Sea’s late run.
Ava’s Kitten, a recent turf-sprint winner at Saratoga and a two-time winner over the Belmont turf, is the one to beat for trainer Chad Brown.
The Christiecat will go as race 8 on a nine-race program that begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
Key Contenders
Coastal Sea, by Kantharos
Beyers: 85-68
◗ Showed a good late turn of foot and took advantage of fast early paces to win her first two starts impressively at Laurel. The runners-up from those two races came back to win their next start. La Nina, the sixth-place finisher from her July 24 allowance win, also came back to win.
◗ Keefe, based in the Mid-Atlantic region, is 0 for 10 in his career at Belmont Park.
Ava’s Kitten, by Kitten’s Joy
Last 3 Beyers: 87-82-85
◗ She is 2 for 2 sprinting on turf, including a nose victory in a second-level allowance race at Saratoga on Aug. 20.
◗ Won a maiden race going seven furlongs here last fall and later added a victory in the Chelsey Flower Stakes going a mile.
◗ With Irad Ortiz Jr. serving a suspension, Javier Castellano picks up the mount.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Ava’s Kitten. Trainer Chad Brown is 27-9-4-4 with a $2.67 ROI over the past five years with last-out winners in turf sprints at Belmont. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Most Beautiful, by Canford Cliffs
◗ Makes her U.S. debut for trainer Tom Proctor after going 2 for 9 in Ireland, where she was trained by David Wachman.
◗ At 2, she finished third behind Ballydoyle and Minding in a Group 2 at The Curragh. Ballydoyle and Minding came out of that race to win Group 1 stakes.
◗ Figures to get pace help from uncoupled stablemate Coco as in Chanel, who has the same ownership.
Tizanillusion, by Tizway
Last 3 Beyers: 80-78-80
◗ Crossed the finish line first or second in five consecutive turf sprints, though she was disqualified from first and placed third for interference in a starter allowance at Saratoga on Aug. 4.
◗ Beaten a nose by Lamontagne in a starter allowance going six furlongs here in July. Lamontagne shipped to Del Mar and won her next start.
◗ Her two first-place finishes came on the front end, but she has run well from off the pace as well, and her outside draw should allow jockey Luis Saez to survey the field.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 10 Miss Katie Mae. Trainer Graham Motion is 20-1-2-2 with a $0.33 ROI over the past four years going from synthetic to turf in sprints. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan