Divisional leadership on line in Coronation Cup
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The sudden announcement on Thursday that Slay the Day has been retired leaves Sapphire Beach and Cy Fair to vie for leadership in the 3-year-old filly turf sprint division. The top spot will be up for grabs when the pair square off for the second time this season Saturday at Saratoga in the Grade 3, $225,000 Coronation Cup.
The 5 1/2-furlong Coronation Cup drew a field of just six fillies along with two main track only entrants, both of whom could ultimately become prominent players with the long-range forecast calling for a better than 80 percent chance of rain here on Saturday.
Sapphire Beach and Cy Fair finished second and third, respectively, just a half-length apart, behind Slay the Day when meeting for the first time in the Grade 3 Limestone at Keeneland on April 10. Both fillies having since returned to win with Sapphire Beach defeating allowance opposition in impressive fashion on May 31 and Cy Fair bouncing back to register a very popular one-length victory over Slay the Day in the Grade 3 Mamzelle on April 30. Both of those races at came at Churchill Downs.
Sapphire Beach has shown marked improvement from age 2 to 3, having won twice and finished second in her three one-turn races this season. Her only poor effort in 2026 was a tiring fifth-place finish when she was sent a mile for the first time in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride this winter at Gulfstream Park.
“We tried her long once, which was our mistake, she probably didn’t want to do that,” said Rusty Arnold, who trains Sapphire Beach for Three Diamonds Farm. “Other than that, she’s been very good. She won her first start pretty easily at Gulfstream Park and ran very well at Keeneland against Slay the Day and Cy Fair. It couldn’t get much tougher than that. And then she came back to win quite impressively again.”
Although Sapphire Beach finished in front of Cy Fair in their first encounter, Arnold believes Cy Fair could hold a bit of an advantage in the rematch for trainer George Weaver.
“George’s filly was off the shelf the first time they met, then came back and won very impressively and now has had two races under her belt,” Arnold reasoned. “But our filly is pretty good too.”
Cy Fair will have a bit of a home-field advantage in the rematch, having registered a win and a second last summer at Saratoga. Sapphire Beach will be trying the local course for the first time Saturday.
The key question for Arnold and the connections of the other five fillies in the body of the race is the weather.
“She’s never run over anything other than a firm course, so I’m not sure what we might decide to do if the race comes off the grass,” Arnold said.
Cy Fair capped off her outstanding 2-year-old campaign with victories against males in the Algonquin Stakes at Woodbine and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar. She set a contested pace before finishing a game third behind Slay the Day and Sapphire Beach when returning from nearly a seven-month layoff in the Limestone before coming back on just 20 days’ rest to register a career-best 94 Beyer Speed Figure in the Mamzelle.
“She was a little fresh off the bench and still ran well, all things considered,” Weaver said of the Limestone. “And I thought she came back and ran an even better race at Churchill.”
Weaver had planned on taking Cy Fair to Royal Ascot off her win in the Mamzelle to compete in the King Charles III Stakes last month but opted to cancel the trip just days before her scheduled flight to England.
“She just wasn’t training the way I liked, I wasn’t happy with her, and it’s a long ways to go if everything isn’t going perfectly right,” Weaver explained.
Like Arnold, Weaver is keeping a close eye on the weather and as a result has entered her back against males the following afternoon in the Grade 3 Quick Call.
“I just wanted to keep our options open in case the course is just a complete mess or if they take the race off the turf on Saturday,” Weaver said.
Snow Face Princess handed Cy Fair her only loss at 2 when running her down in the final strides to upset the Bolton Landing Stakes here last summer. She has gone winless in four subsequent starts, including a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Mamzelle.
The New York-bred Hot Currency and red-hot Niche could end up vying for favoritism if the Coronation Cup is taken off the turf. Hot Currency won a restricted stakes in one-sided fashion earlier this spring at Aqueduct, while Niche has put together a two-race winning streak since trainer Rob Atras put her back on dirt in April.
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