Donna Veloce to be rested, will return to races in March

CYPRESS, Calif. – Donna Veloce, second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last month and in Saturday’s Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos, will be given a brief rest in advance of a late winter and spring campaign.

Trainer Simon Callaghan said on Sunday he does not plan to start Donna Veloce until March and hopes to give the filly two starts before the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 1.

“She came out of it really good,” Callaghan said on Sunday. “She jogged great this morning. We’ll give her some time and let her decompress and bring her back in March.”

Donna Veloce, owned by Kaleem Shah and the Coolmore partnership, was the 3-10 favorite in the $300,000 Starlet at 1 1/16 miles. Donna Veloce stalked pacesetter Bast, and was within a head of that rival in the stretch, only to be beaten a half-length.

Later this month, Bellafina, a millionaire and six-time stakes winner, all for Shah and Callaghan, is scheduled to start in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs at Santa Anita on Dec. 26. Bellafina finished a game second in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.

In late November, Callaghan moved his stable from Santa Anita to Los Alamitos. Bellafina has had two workouts at Los Alamitos in recent weeks and is scheduled to work on the next two Thursdays, Callaghan said.

Callaghan said he plans to divide his stable in early 2020, with approximately 20 to 25 horses returning to Santa Anita with a large group, primarily 2-year-olds, remaining at Los Alamitos.

“We’re going to have quite a few more 2-year-olds,” he said. “We’ve acquired quite a lot of yearlings. We were going to have a split division anyway. I think Los Alamitos will be a good place to bring the 2-year-olds along.”

Callaghan estimates the stable will have 60 to 70 horses in the spring.

Sadly, the stable recently lost the unbeaten 2-year-old filly Amalfi Sunrise to laminitis, Callaghan said.

Amalfi Sunrise won a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita in June and the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at six furlongs by six lengths at Del Mar on Aug. 3 in what was her final start. Owned by Marsha Naify and Doug Branham, Amalfi Sunrise was hospitalized with pneumonia later that month.

“Initially, she got really bad pneumonia and got really sick,” Callaghan said. “We got her over that. We thought she was on a good path. She got laminitis and foundered and unfortunately there was nothing we could do. The vets at San Luis Rey Equine did as good a job as they could have done.”