Dolce Zel's next start undetermined; Matriarch possible

Dolce Zel’s next start is to be determined after a comeback win for new trainer Phil D’Amato in the $81,500 Kathryn Crosby Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar.

Dolce Zel broke through the gate before the start, but jockey Flavien Prat prevented her from running off. He got an assist from Dolce Zel herself, who sensed it was not time to go.

“When I fell off, I grabbed her, and she felt something was wrong,” Prat said. “Usually when they break through the gate, then they break slow (in the race).” But not Dolce Zel. She broke perfectly, settled in fourth, and won by three-quarters of a length making her first start in nearly a year.

The filly will be considered for the Grade 1 Matriarch on Dec. 3 at Del Mar, but D’Amato will wait and see. “We’re going to play it by year, but definitely keep the Matriarch under consideration,” he said, adding that her owners would be fine if D’Amato decides to wait until the Santa Anita winter meet for her next start.

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“She came out of (the Kathryn Crosby) good, she won on the (Del Mar) turf course, so we’ll take it day by day,” D’Amato said. Dolce Zel, a two-time graded stakes winner as a 3-year-old in 2022, has won 4 of 9.

D’Amato will have at least one starter in the Matriarch. Graded stakes-winning sprinter Elm Drive, runner-up Nov. 3 in the Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes for filly-mare turf sprinters on the Santa Anita hill, will stretch to two turns for the one-mile Matriarch. Elm Drive, a 5-for-14 front-runner, might face another filly with a similar style.

Ruby Nell, who wired the Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita, could move up to face older fillies and mares in the Matriarch. Ruby Nell’s final time in the Autumn Miss was 1:32.67, which was .02 seconds faster than 5-year-old mare Closing Remarks ran winning the Grade 2 Goldikova Stakes later on the card.

Richard Mandella trains Ruby Nell, who is nominated to the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere on Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs. Mandella did not rule out the Mrs. Revere for 3-year-old fillies, but said “More than likely, we’ll stay here and run in the Matriarch.” Ruby Nell has won 4 of 8.

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