Graceful Princess brings strong credentials to feature

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The pedigree doesn’t get much better than what Graceful Princess brings to the Thursday feature at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old filly is by one of the world’s premier sires, Tapit, and was produced by Havre de Grace, the 2011 Horse of the Year.

Better yet, Graceful Princess ran to her bloodlines in her only public appearance, a dominating maiden triumph on closing weekend of the Saratoga meet in early September.

“We were going to run her back in the Frizette [at Belmont Park in early October], but she got sick,” said Ralph Nicks, who trains Graceful Princess for the Whisper Hill Farm of owner-breeder Mandy Pope. “It was one of those things that lingered for a while, so we sent her home [to GoldMark Farm in Ocala, Fla.] for a break. She came back to me in early December and has done very well in her training.”

Graceful Princess, with Tyler Gaffalione to ride, will break from post 6 in a field of seven fillies in a $51,000, first-level allowance carded as the seventh of 11 races Thursday. First post is noon Eastern, with the one-mile feature set for 3:08.

Win or lose, Nicks is hopeful that Graceful Princess will eventually compete on the level of his most recent standout filly, Caledonia Road, whose victory in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar made her a divisional champion.

“This filly is very talented, very smart,” Nicks said. “I think she could have a bright future, whether it’s Thursday or down the road. The raw material sure is there.”

The comeback spot is not an easy one, as Graceful Princess will face Western Curl (post 2, Irad Ortiz Jr.), who makes her dirt debut after being defeated as an odds-on favorite in a restricted Woodbine stakes in December for Mark Casse, and Queen of Beas (post 3, Jose Ortiz), a sharp last-out winner for Jorge Abreu.

One other $51,000, first-level allowance for 3-year-old fillies (race 9) also is on tap Thursday, albeit at five furlongs on turf. Both co-features are part of the Rainbow 6 (races 6-11), which had a jackpot carryover of $843,158 when a five-day race week began Wednesday.

KEY CONTENDERS

Graceful Princess, by Tapit
Beyer: 71

◗ Four Palm Meadows breezes followed her GoldMark preps as this blueblood will try to build on a beauty of a seven-furlong debut in which she led virtually every step of the way.

Queen of Beas, by Flatter
Beyers: 92-58

◗ After surging late to be second here in her December debut, this bay filly earned a field-high Beyer with a Jan. 6 maiden triumph.

Western Curl, by Curlin
Beyers: 69-75

◗ After a maiden romp over the Woodbine turf, this filly’s lone other start was her third in the Ontario Lassie over the synthetic.