Eskenformoney, Genre resume rivalry in Rampart

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Genre and Eskenformoney not only see each other daily in trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn, their paths have also crossed numerous times in the afternoon and will cross again Saturday when the two fillies vie for favoritism in the $100,000 Rampart Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

The one-mile Rampart is one of two Grade 3 stakes for fillies and mares on the card. The other is the six-furlong Sugar Swirl.

Eskenformoney got the better of Genre in both meetings here last winter, although Genre has come out on top in three subsequent encounters, including the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher, which she won by a neck after a nearly stretch-long duel with her familiar rival.

“They’ve run against each other and been close several times and been training together in the morning,” said Pletcher. “Hopefully, it’s a dead heat.”

Genre followed her game win in the Molly Pitcher with a stakes victory at Thistledown going 1 1/4 miles before proving no match for I’m a Chatterbox and Paid Up Subscriber when finishing a distant third in her Grade 1 debut in the Spinster.

“She’s really turned into a very consistent distaffer and has run well here in the past and won here at a one-turn mile,” Pletcher said of Genre.

Eskenformoney has placed in multiple graded stakes but has yet to win one.

“That’s what’s kind of missing on her résumé, a graded stakes win,” said Pletcher. “She’s run well at a number of different venues, and we’re just looking to get her back on track.”

Like Pletcher, trainer Marty Wolfson entered a pair of fillies in the Rampart, Curlin’s Approval and Inside Out. Curlin’s Approval may be the one to catch coming off a game fourth-place finish when making her graded stakes debut in the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland. Inside Out makes her first start since being transferred to Wolfson’s barn after being privately purchased by Miller Racing out of a seventh-place finish at Presque Isle Downs.

Stonetastic meets Dearest in Sugar Swirl

The Sugar Swirl features an intriguing matchup between a pair of speedsters, the veteran Stonetastic and the up-and-coming 3-year-old Dearest.

Stonetastic has won two of her three local starts, including the Grade 2 Inside information earlier this year, with her lone setback here a second-place finish following an eventful trip in the 2015 Sugar Swirl.

Stonetastic, who ran in both the 2014 and 2015 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, is at her best on the lead and likely will try to run Dearest and her five other rivals off their feet from the outset again Saturday. The Sugar Swirl could mark the final start of her career.

“For me, it’s very bittersweet that this may be her last race before she goes off to her breeding career,” trainer Kelly Breen said. “She’s going to be very much missed around the barn. She’s very fun to be around. She has her own swagger. I think she knows she’s fast.”

Although she’s a Grade 2 winner at seven furlongs, Stonetastic may be more effective at six furlongs, having posted four of her eight career wins and never finishing worse than third at that distance.

Dearest has won 4 of 6 starts, her only setbacks a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Prioress and a third here last winter behind the odds-on Cathryn Sophia in the Grade 2 Davona Dale.

An early conflict between the two favorites would play into the hands of You Bought Her, who finished third after getting in some tight quarters along the rail in this race one year ago. You Bought Her has futilely chased Stonetastic across the wire in each of their last three meetings, beginning with the Sugar Swirl and subsequently in the Inside Information and Grade 1 Humana Distaff.

Sky Gold should also provide some early pace pressure, with Danessa Again and Winning for Sarah rounding out the compact field.