OZONE PARK, N.Y. – By virtue of beating the boys in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes on Aug. 31 at Saratoga, Gala Brand will be a deserving favorite when she faces her own gender in Wednesday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo Stakes at Aqueduct. Though this 12-horse field attracted five maidens, the Miss Grillo still looks to be a tougher task for Gala Brand than the With Anticipation. Gala Brand, trained by Bill Mott, had been entered in both the P.G. Johnson Stakes for fillies on Aug. 30 and the With Anticipation the following day, both at Saratoga. Gala Brand scratched out of the P.G. Johnson when that race came off the turf and the next day she rallied from last to win the With Anticipation by a half-length over Carson’s Run. That performance was flattered when Carson’s Run went up to Woodbine to win the Grade 1 Summer Stakes on Sept. 17. Gala Brand has won with a devastating late foot that was equally effective sprinting – when she rallied from last to win a maiden – and routing. :: Get Belmont at the Big A Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. “She’s quite professional. She hasn’t made any mistakes,” Mott said. “Given the fact there are horses that have come out of the race that ran well, I think that’s important.” The Miss Grillo, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles over the inner turf, offers a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita. Chad Brown has won the Miss Grillo eight times. Four of those winners – Maram (2008), Lady Eli (2014), New Money Honey (2016), and Newspaperofrecord (2018) – came back to win the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Wednesday, Brown will send out Hard to Justify and Steel Lute. Hard to Justify had to check hard going into the first turn of a July 31 maiden race, then re-rallied while coming six wide to win by a head over Appellate. She was scratched from the P.G. Johnson Stakes when that race came off the turf. Speaking of Hard to Justify’s debut, Brown said, “We liked her a lot. She really had a troubled trip and showed a lot. She’s a nice horse.” Flavien Prat rides from post 2. Steel Lute finished three lengths behind Memorialize, who is in the Miss Grillo for trainer Graham Motion. Memorialize ran a remarkable second in her debut at Colonial Downs after acting up at the gate and breaking far behind the field after jockey Jorge Ruiz lost his irons. Stretched out for her second start at Saratoga, Memorialize launched a four-wide bid on the far turn and sustained her rally all the way to the wire by three lengths. “The race at Colonial was crazy. I don’t think I’ve ever had a horse run like she did that day,” Motion said. “Coming back at Saratoga, obviously we felt off that horse race you had to be legit unless it was just a bad race. [At Saratoga], I think she enforced what we saw. She’s very talented.” Gold Lightning, trained by Brad Cox, looked extremely professional rallying from well off the pace and splitting horses late and drawing clear to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden race by 2 1/4 lengths on Aug. 31. Camila T, trained by Juan Avila, sped her way to a 13-length victory in a five-furlong maiden race on Aug. 19 at Monmouth Park, earning a gaudy 90 Beyer Speed Figure in the process. Horses coming out of that race are 0 for 7 in their subsequent starts. Appellate, one of three entered in the Miss Grillo by trainer Todd Pletcher, was beaten a head by both Hard to Justify and then Weigh the Risks in separate maiden races. Weigh the Risks could be Brown’s top 2-year-old grass filly but is sidelined for the remainder of the year due to a minor injury. Later Darling, another maiden trained by Pletcher, was only a neck behind Appelate in the race won by Weigh the Risks. She has gotten away slowly from the gate in both of her first two starts. “Poor starts both times, closed really well last time,” Pletcher said of Later Darling. “Little better early position, she should improve.” Pletcher also entered Life’s an Audible, who is coming off maiden victory going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf. Dancing Spirit, trained by Adam Rice, won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race at Saratoga on turf before finishing third of four in the off-the-turf P.G. Johnson. Whimsically, trained by Cherie DeVaux, finished first in a maiden race at Colonial Downs, but was disqualified for interference. Sierra Sky rallied from last in a 12-horse field to finish second in a seven-furlong maiden race at Kentucky Downs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.