First time at two turns for all nine Sorority gals
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Intraosseous is one of many juveniles fillies shipping to Monmouth Park for a distance test in the $100,000 Sorority Stakes on Saturday. She will try a two-turn mile in her route debut after a comfortable maiden victory at Saratoga last month.
“She was able to break sharp and sit in behind and finish up well,” trainer Kinnon LaRose said of her maiden victory. “That’s what we envision on Saturday as well. Looks like there’s some other speed in there. We’ll just try to break sharp and find a spot.”
In LaRose’s second career victory at Saratoga, Intraosseous tackled six furlongs with a professional closing trip, kicking in late to pull clear by 2 3/4 lengths in a $115,000 maiden special weight. She earned a 69 Beyer Speed Figure, a significant improvement on the 55 she earned while rallying for third at Churchill Downs in June.
LaRose said he can see the Girvin filly traveling farther as she develops, but for now, the Sorority is a reasonable challenge for the third-time starter. None of the nine juvenile fillies in the field have attempted a race around two turns.
“We always thought she was a filly that was going to be able to handle distance as she got older,” LaRose said. “She’s a big, long, rangy, filly, and being by Girvin, it certainly doesn’t hurt. Distance can be her friend.”
Trainer Robert Medina said much the same about the maiden Spectacular Sam, who could also potentially tackle longer distances in the future. The filly stretched out to a one-turn mile at Ellis Park last month and improved to finish second by a neck with a 65 Beyer.
“She wanted to pull a little bit on that rider before she settled,” Medina said. “Then she made a nice run, looked like she was going to win, but she just lingered on that left lead all the way to the wire. All in all, she ran pretty good.”
Like Intraosseous, Spectacular Sam has closed from well back in both of her starts, though she has also been green, which has likely cost her. Medina said he was considering a maiden race at a mile at Churchill Downs on Sept. 13, but he preferred the attempt against classier around two turns at Monmouth.
Emphatic, a Pennsylvania-bred filly, could vie for favoritism in her second start for trainer Brendan Walsh. In her July debut at Colonial, she pulled away from a short field to win a six-furlong sprint by 6 3/4 lengths with a 70 Beyer.
Trainer John Servis entered the only horse in the field with stakes experience, as the Parx-based filly Witchy Vibes shipped to Delaware for the $75,000 Blue Hen earlier this month. She was not as forwardly placed in that race and finished fifth with a wide trip, but she won her debut at Monmouth while dueling on the front end. Servis will add blinkers.
Tiz Candy, a last-out maiden-claiming winner at Ellis Park, was cross-entered in the $200,000 Bolton Landing on Wednesday at Saratoga, but she scratched.
Revenge of the Sis, a first-time starter trained by George Weaver, is cross-entered as a main-track-only runner in a maiden special weight scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf at Saratoga on Friday.
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