Dona Bruja has Beverly D. as main summer goal

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Group 1-winning Argentine mare Dona Bruja required some time following a tough fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes on April 14 at Keeneland, but when trainer Ignacio Correas returned to his main base at Keeneland after a few days looking in on his Arlington string, he was pleasantly surprised to see Dona Bruja through relatively fresh eyes.

“When you get to see the horses every day, sometimes you take a break of two or three days and you see the changes more,” Correas said Tuesday. “I was very pleased with what I saw from her.”

Dona Bruja, a 5-year-old with a sparking 11-3-0 record from 16 starts, was a sharp winner of the Feb. 10 Endeavour Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in her first start of 2018 before, to Correas’s consternation, winding up on the lead in the Jenny Wiley, then tiring to fifth. Last summer, Dona Bruja won the Mint Julep at Churchill and the Modesty at Arlington before finishing second in the Grade 1 Beverly D., and that Arlington Million Day stakes is her major target again this summer.

“The ultimate goal is the Beverly D.,” Correas said. “Maybe we’ll use the [Modesty] as a prep, but I’m not sure. She’s jogging right now at Keeneland.”

Meanwhile, if you are waiting for the admirable Correas-trained 8-year-old Kasaqui to rev up for his 2018 campaign, stop waiting. Kasaqui, Correas said, was retired from racing by owner Diane Perkins following a third-place finish Nov. 23 in the River City Handicap. Kasaqui resides at Greenfield Farm near Georgetown, Ky., and “covered three or four mares” this breeding season, Correas said.

Kasaqui, another Argentine import, was second by a neck in the 2016 Arlington Million and won the Grade 2 Wise Dan at Keeneland last summer. He concluded his career with a record of 31-6-12-2 and earnings of $706,729.