Four stakes winners look for old form in CERF Stakes

DEL MAR, Calif. – Redemption is the objective Wednesday at Del Mar, where four stakes winners who ran below expectations last time out seek a return to form in the $75,000 CERF Stakes.

Enchanting Lady, Pretty N Cool, Dr. Fager’s Gal, and Lucky Folie each lost while favored last time, yet each has fitting back credentials to win the CERF, a six-furlong filly-and-mare stakes that sets up the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap on Aug. 17.

The problem is that the CERF field also includes the quickest filly in California, and if Shh She’s Ours runs as fast at Del Mar as she ran all spring at Santa Anita, she might be gone. Shh She’s Ours won her first stakes and her fourth straight race last month, blazing six furlongs in 1:07.75.

“Her last race was great,” trainer Jim Cassidy said. “She lunged out of there and was two in front before they even thought about it.”

Circumstances change Wednesday. Shh She’s Ours, the 8-5 program favorite, was racing over a lightning-fast surface at Santa Anita. The Del Mar main track is not nearly as fast, as Cassidy acknowledged. “It’s different, it’s a little tiring,” he said.

If the favorite is compromised by a slower surface, the door is open for the redemption seekers.

Enchanting Lady was unplaced at odds-on last out in a Grade 3 at Churchill Downs, her third start of a Midwest campaign that sputtered. The stakes winner is trained by Bob Baffert, who also starts the comebacker Pretty N Cool, a two-time graded stakes winner.

Dr. Fager’s Gal finished second as the odds-on favorite last out in a muddy-track stakes at Prairie Meadows; Lucky Folie finished fifth as the favorite last out in a sprint stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita.

CERF STAKES

KEY CONTENDERS

Shh She’s Ours, by Tiz Wonderful

Last 3 Beyers: 101-85-80

◗ It takes two people to saddle Shh She’s Ours, whose unruly paddock behavior has been tempered. “It’s just been a lot of TLC,” Cassidy said.

◗ She carries the high weight of 123 pounds, conceding four to seven pounds. “She’s a strapping filly, so I wouldn’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Cassidy said.

◗ Cassidy and Victor Espinoza recently discussed strategy for Shh She’s Ours. Cassidy told the rider, “I want you to take hold of her and make one run.” Espinoza replied, “What? Are you crazy?” Cassidy was joking. Shh She’s Ours is pure speed. She will set the pace.

Enchanting Lady, by Tale of the Cat

Last 3 Beyers: 73-87-90

◗ A class drop from graded stakes and a return to California are likely to produce an improved effort by the 3-for-11 Enchanting Lady, a two-time stakes winner.

◗ She has speed but also has run well from off the pace. Rafael Bejarano will ride Enchanting Lady for the first time, breaking from the rail.

Pretty N Cool, by Scat Daddy

Last 3 Beyers: 78-67-69

◗ Unraced since January, the 3-year-old Pretty N Cool is facing older for the first time. She won two stakes at Del Mar – the Grade 2 Sorrento last summer and a minor stakes in the fall.

◗ Mike Smith rides Pretty N Cool for the first time. Pretty N Cool worked five furlongs from the gate last Wednesday in 59 seconds.

Lucky Folie, by Distorted Humor

Last 3 Beyers: 66-77-76

◗ Illness delayed the 3-year-old filly’s first start of the season until May; she finished fifth in her comeback.

“I was puzzled,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “I thought she’d run well. So, we backed up and regrouped. She’s training good, so we’ll try again.”

◗ Lucky Folie is 2 for 2 at Del Mar; she will be ridden by Flavien Prat.