Cookie Dough not ready for Added Elegance Stakes

Arindel’s Cookie Dough is the most prominent name on the nomination sheet for Saturday’s $60,000 Added Elegance Stakes at Gulfstream Park, but the winner of the Grade 3 Royal Delta earlier this season will not be in the starting gate for the one-mile overnight test for older fillies and mares.

Cookie Dough, who has not started since finishing far back in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park, is still a ways off from her next start, according to Brian Cohen, who oversees the local contingent of the Ocala, Fla.-based stable owned by his father, Alan Cohen.

“She came back well from the Apple Blossom,” Brian Cohen said. “We decided to give her some time off at home on the farm, and the layoff seems to have done her a lot of good. It appears she’s put on some weight, and she seems to be doing really well at the moment.

“The original plan was to keep her up there on the farm a little longer, but with the weather in the area not being great, we felt the track at Gulfstream Park would be a little more consistent for her to train over this summer.”

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Cookie Dough won the final two legs of the Florida Sire Series at 2 and was graded stakes-placed five times before breaking through with her first graded stakes victory in the Royal Delta on Feb. 15. She is currently trained by Juan Alvarado after having passed through several other barns over the past couple of seasons, most recently that of leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.

“We just decided to train her ourselves for now,” Cohen said. “At the moment, the plan is to not rush her into anything. We’re looking at races like the Ballerina at Saratoga on August 8 and also the Princess Rooney back here the following month. She’s had two easy works since returning to Gulfstream, and we should know a lot more after her next two.”

Arindel has had good success with their homebred 2-year-olds thus far at the meet, one of whom, Gatsby, is on the road this weekend to compete Saturday in the Grade 3 Bashford Manor at Churchill Downs. Gatsby chased and ran down odds-on Golden Pal to win his debut April 17 at Gulfstream, the latter flattering the effort by returning to finish second last week at Royal Ascot in the Norfolk Stakes.

“Our main goal with him is the Sire Series, but that’s still five weeks away,” Cohen said. “There was a potential allowance race for him here [at Gulfstream], but we weren’t sure if it would go. He’s ready to run, the distance is good for him, he’s training great, and we were able to get Tyler Gaffalione to ride.”

Cohen said he’s planning to send a small contingent of Arindel runners to Saratoga this summer with assistant Heather Smullen, a group that would likely include Cookie Dough, Key Biscayne for a potential start in the Lake Placid, and Quinoa Tifah, another first-out 2-year-old winner currently pointing to the Schuylerville.

A field of eight was expected to be drawn for the Added Elegance that included top contenders Queen Nekia, Nonna Madeline, and Letruska along with Bella Ciao, Remarkable Soul, Heiressall, and the Steve Dwoskin-trained pair of Helping Lisa D and Starship Bonita.