Complete opposites clash in Comely

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - In two races one hour apart on the same Gulfstream Park card, Teammate went gate to wire to win the nine-furlong Bonnie Miss Stakes, while Miraculous Miss rallied from last to take the seven-furlong Davona Dale.

Saturday, the two fillies with contrasting styles meet at a middle distance when they head the $150,000 Comely Stakes at Aqueduct. The Comely, a Grade 2 race for 3-year-old fillies, is run as a one-turn mile over the Big A's main track.

While has recorded both of her wins around two turns, she did run a strong second behind Bushfire in a one-turn mile allowance race at Gulfstream in January. Teammate, who stalked the pace that day, looked poised to go past Bushfire, but fell a head short. Bushfire has since come back to win the Grade 1 Ashland.

Following that allowance race, Teammate was beaten 14 lengths in the slop when running second to Wait a While in the Grade 2 Davona Dale at 1 1/8 miles. Teammate came back to score a front-running victory in the Bonnie Miss, running on Lasix for the first time.

"Nobody else went out there and the fractions weren't too fast,'' said Allen Jerkens, the trainer of Teammate. "If somebody wants to go she'll just lay off them. They have to learn to be adaptable.''

Though the switch from two turns to one turn may be a concern for Teammate, it is noteworthy that two of Jerkens's four Comely winners came out of the Bonnie Miss.

is 4 for 5 with her only loss coming in the Grade 3 Old Hat, run over a sloppy track. Included in her four wins is a two-length victory in the Grade 3 Valley Stream over Aqueduct's main track last fall.

Miraculous Miss rebounded from her Old Hat loss to rally from 10 lengths back to win the Forward Gal. She was forced to steady on the turn and go extremely wide for the stretch drive. But her prolonged stretch kick leads one to believe the mile - a distance she has not yet tried - will be within her scope.

has won two straight around two turns, including the Busher. She could find herself on the lead if Teammate doesn't want it. Daytime Promise won the Busanda, but has found trouble in her last two races. The last time Better Now ran in a one-turn race she won the Grade 3 Tempted. She was well beaten in last November's Demoiselle and last month's Bonnie Miss.

Win McCool, who was also entered in Friday's Road Princess, and Mama Nadine, complete the field.