Domain Expansion possible for Starlet Stakes, trainer says
:quality(75))
ARCADIA, Calif. - Domain Expansion, winner of the Grade 2 Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 3 but fifth of 12 in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland, may race again this year.
Trainer Leonard Powell said on Sunday that Domain Expansion will be considered for the Grade 2 Starlet Stakes, a $200,000 race for 2-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles at Los Alamitos on Dec. 5.
Domain Expansion was beaten 12 lengths by Emphatic in the BC Juvenile Fillies at 1 1/16 miles. Miss Monica was second by 1 1/2 lengths, and 8 1/4 lengths in front of third-place finisher Manuka Honey.
Domain Expansion raced on the inside on the turn. Powell surmised that Domain Expansion could have been competitive if she had been positioned toward the outside.
“The first two were much the best,” Powell said. “If we hadn’t gotten buried on the inside, we could have been in the fight for third.”
Owned by California Racing Partners, Joe Ciaglia, Allen Keith and Kevin O’Donnell, Domain Expansion won the Oak Leaf Stakes by seven lengths, her lone win in three starts. She was second in a maiden race at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Sept. 5.
“Next year, if she shows that she’s doing well, we would like to put her on the road to the Kentucky Oaks,” Powell said.
The Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles, will be run at Churchill Downs on April 30.
There are no immediate race plans for Vanta, a two-time stakes winner in California who finished 13th of 14 in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf at a mile on turf at Keeneland on Friday.
Vanta raced at the back of the field throughout and failed to pose a threat. She ran from off the pace to win the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf and Grade 3 Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita in her two preceding starts. Those races were run at a mile on turf.
“The turf course was a little demanding for her,” trainer Jeff Mullins said of Keeneland. “We’ll see how she is in a couple of days, and get her back going.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.