Gozzip Girl stumbles into Miss Liberty
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Gozzip Girl is one of the top contenders in Sunday's $100,000 Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth Park, but she is here by happenstance rather than design.
Winner of the Grade 1 American Oaks last summer, Gozzip Girl made her season debut in the New York Stakes at Belmont on June 19, when she stumbled badly at the break, dumping jockey Ramon Dominguez. Fortunately, she suffered only minor damage in the mishap.
"She had a couple of scrapes behind her pastern where she actually tripped herself," trainer Tom Albertrani said. "Other than that, she came out of the race pretty clean.
The stumble left Albertrani hunting for a race to prep Gozzip Girl for the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga on July 31. The Miss Liberty fit the bill, in terms of timing. Albertrani also considered an allowance race at Belmont Park on Monday, but that race did not fill.
Run at 1 1/16 miles, the Miss Liberty Stakes drew a field of 14 fillies and mares on the turf.
"The mile and a sixteenth at Monmouth might be against us a little bit," Albertrani said. "Right now, we just want to get a race under her. She's been training very well ever since the bad stumble. We're looking forward to getting her back on the track again."
Albertrani said he does not foresee any aftereffects from the stumble.
"She looked like she rebounded well from that incident," he said. "All looks well, and we'll have to see what happens when we get her back in the gate."
The luck of the draw was not kind to Maram, the 2008 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner. She got the outside slot in the 14-horse field.
Trainer Chad Brown also cross-entered Maram in the Dr. James Penny Memorial at Philadelphia Park on Monday.
"I plan to run her at Monmouth," Brown said. "With the bad post, I also entered the other race. I want to see where she winds up after scratches."
This will be the second straight start here for Maram. She was second in her season debut, beaten a nose in the Grade 3 Eatontown Handicap on May 31.
Sweet Theresa and Chestoria were also cross-entered in the Penny.