Dat You, Maddie May cross paths

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Dat You Miz Blue and Maddie May have been two of the better New York-bred female sprinters for the last three-plus years. Somehow, they have crossed paths only once, a three-length victory by Maddie May in the 1999 Maid of the Mist Stakes.

Sunday, the two 5-year-old mares meet again, when Maddie May will attempt to run down Dat You Miz Blue in the $75,000 Broadway Handicap at Aqueduct. Dat You Miz Blue, trained by Jimmy Jerkens, won this seven-furlong race a year ago and is the 123-pound highweight for Sunday's renewal.

Neither Maddie May nor Dat You Miz Blue has ever finished worse than second in 11 combined starts in New York-bred company. Maddie May is 4-1-0 from five starts, including two stakes victories. Dat You Miz Blue is 4-2-0 from six outs, including three stakes scores.

"Dat You Miz Blue's 'A' race is better than Maddie May's 'A' race," said John Hassett, assistant to Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Maddie May. "But, Maddie May is more consistent. If [Dat You Miz Blue] stubs her toe a little bit, if she doesn't run one of her better races, we got her. I'd be disappointed if we didn't finish in the top three."

Maddie May is 7 for 14 lifetime and is coming off a pair of solid efforts versus open company over the inner track. She won a classified allowance race on Feb. 17 before finishing second to the repeating winner La Galerie on March 3. Both of those races were run at six furlongs. Sunday, she stretches out to seven-eighths, a distance at which she won the Iroquois Stakes last October.

In her last seven starts, Dat You Miz Blue has been a beaten favorite five times at odds of even-money or less. She is coming off a gutty allowance win over the main track on March 17, a race in which she displayed the ability to win from off the pace.

"I guess she had no choice, she lost some of her lick," Jerkens said. "That or maybe she is getting smarter."

Dat You Miz Blue will probably resort to her front-running ways Sunday. She looms the main speed in the eight-horse field. Dat You Miz Blue will break from post 3 under Javier Castellano.

Shopping for Love is a potential upsetter. Though she is more accomplished on turf, Shopping for Love has won multiple stakes on dirt, including the seven-furlong Bouwerie Stakes for statebreds. She is making her first start since last Sept. 28, and is nicely drawn on the outside.

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