Flay eager to watch Dame Dorothy turn up the heat in Comely

The $400,000 Comely on Saturday at Aqueduct will force handicappers to choose among a three-horse entry from Godolphin and the top two finishers from last month’s Grade 3 Turnback the Alarm Handicap, Dame Dorothy and Catch My Drift.

The Grade 3 Comely, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies, is the first of four stakes on the Cigar Mile card and has been slotted as race 4. The field also includes House Rules, who since August has sandwiched a pair of runaway optional-claiming wins around an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Cotillion.

But there is only one undefeated runner in the lineup, Dame Dorothy, the best prospect Bobby Flay has owned since More Than Real won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf four years ago.

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Dame Dorothy, a $390,000 yearling, has reeled off four straight wins, all for Todd Pletcher. Her Turnback the Alarm victory over older rivals was more impressive than the half-length margin suggests because it was her first start in 11 weeks, and she made several miscues during the 1 1/16-mile race.

After stumbling at the start, she appeared to resent jockey Javier Castellano taking a hold of her, and as Flay puts it, she “deer-jumped” about a sixteenth of a mile into the race. Dame Dorothy was still a bit rank nearing the far turn, and Castellano was forced to check her behind Teen Pauline, who was racing erratically.

Despite all that, Dame Dorothy took the lead entering the stretch and was able to hold off Catch My Drift. Flay said she may move forward Saturday.

“I’m not sure how cranked she was for her last race,” the celebrity chef and restaurateur said by phone Wednesday. “We were pointing her for the Cotillion, but she came down with a virus, so we skipped it, and then she had four weeks or so to the Turnback the Alarm.”

Flay will be on hand Saturday with both of his parents and a “bunch of friends and colleagues from work.” As cool as he is in front of a camera, Flay admitted to getting “incredibly nervous” when his horses race.

“I was thinking this morning that only people who play serious golf or the horses know how intense it can be,” he said. “I’m already counting the hours until Saturday. I know it’s going to be fun.”

By his own estimation, Flay has six or seven horses in training, an equal number of broodmares, and a “handful of foals.”

He also has the horse to beat in the Comely.

Princess Violet was expected to scratch from the Comely and instead run in Friday’s Go for Wand Handicap, leaving a field of eight.

Key Contenders

Dame Dorothy (Last 3 Beyers: 86-74-87)

◗ She has made only four starts since beginning her career a year ago.

“She had a couple of minor things – shins, an ankle, nothing serious,” Flay said. “I’m a very patient owner, so we stopped on her a few different times.”

Catch My Drift (Last 3 Beyers: 85-81-75)

◗ The Turnback the Alarm was her first start around one turn.

“I think she’s better at two turns, and the extra distance won’t hurt her,” trainer Chad Brown said. “The flow of the race is better for her around two turns. They slow down a little for the first turn, and that lets her stay closer to the pace.”

◗ A winner of three of five starts, she raced out of town for several of her early races.

“She has been a pleasant surprise,” Brown said. “She trains steadily, but nothing special. She’s continued to improve and has earned her way to New York.”

Divided Attention (Last 3 Beyers: 70-93-58)

◗ The Godolphin entry consists of Divided Attention and Penwith, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, and Snowbell, trained by Tom Albertrani.

◗ Divided Attention and Penwith scored sharp wins at Saratoga but disappointed in graded stakes in the Midwest last time out.

◗ This will be Divided Attention’s first start beyond a mile and around two turns.

◗ Her Saratoga win, which came off a layoff, was strong, and Shayjolie and Pretty Fancy, the second- and third-place finishers, each won her next start. Shayjolie is entered in the Comely.