Gris Gris has options in Trapeze

Gris Gris and Chanel’s Legacy both hooked tough 2-year-old fillies in their most recent starts and will shake those rivals Sunday in the $100,000 Trapeze at Remington Park. Gris Gris enters off a fourth to Farrell in the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs, while Chanel’s Legacy also ran fourth in her last start, in the Grade 3 Delta Downs Princess won in a rout by Shane’s Girlfriend.

The Trapeze, for 2-year-old fillies at a mile, is one of five stakes on Remington’s closing-day card. The program, led by the $300,000 Springboard Mile, includes an appearance by Terra Promessa, who will be making her first start since the Kentucky Oaks in the $100,000 She’s All In. The 12-race card that drew 141 horses starts at 3 p.m. Central.

Gris Gris represented herself well against Farrell, who was a six-length winner over Grade 2 Pocahontas heroine Daddys Lil Darling in the Golden Rod on Nov. 26. It was the two-turn debut for Gris Gris, who was coming off a first-level allowance win Oct. 30 at Churchill.

“This filly was in a mile and a sixteenth race for the first time and, in my opinion, a pretty tough graded stakes,” trainer Bernie Flint said. “That was a big jump from [a sprint]. She ran very well and came out of it really nicely. She looks to be a quality filly.”

Gris Gris, which is pronounced “gree gree,” is a homebred for Naveed Chowhan. She is by the young stallion Spring At Last and out of the mare The Voodoo Youdo. Her name reflects the dam’s side of her pedigree.

“Gris gris, it’s a Cajun term, a voodoo term,” Flint said. “When someone puts the gris gris on you, it could be good luck or bad luck, depending on which way you take it and which way it was put on you. Most of the time, they use gris gris for bad luck, but there is a gris gris for good luck. She’s got the good gris gris!”

David Cabrera has the mount on Gris Gris, who will break from post 5.

“She can either go to the front or come from off the pace,” Flint said. “She’s a very easy filly to handle. She’s been blessed with a good brain. Thank God for that. She’s not a one-dimensional horse. You don’t have to worry too much about how the race sets up.”

Chanel’s Legacy rallied from off the pace in the Delta Princess, one start after using stalking tactics to win the $50,000 E.L. Gaylord Memorial on Oct. 14 at Remington. Ramon Vazquez has the mount for Poindexter Thoroughbreds and trainer Lynn Chleborad.

Perfect Wife, a maiden special weight winner in October at Keeneland, will be making her two-turn debut in the Trapeze. She is stretching out off a fourth-place finish in a first-level allowance at six furlongs Nov. 26 at Churchill.

“I think she’s going to enjoy the extra distance,” trainer Ken McPeek said. “She had kind of a bottled-up trip last time, and I think with the added distance she’s going to be able to position herself a little better.”

Corey Lanerie has the mount from post 4 in the nine-horse Trapeze.

Terra Promessa meets elders

Terra Promessa will meet older rivals for the first time in the She’s All In. She is part of a 12-horse field for the mile and 70-yard stakes for fillies and mares. Others set to start include Savings Account, winner of the $200,000 Treasure Chest last month at Delta Downs, and More Than Most, who is seeking her third straight win Sunday.

Terra Promessa won four straight races leading up to the Kentucky Oaks, among her wins were the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy and the Grade 3 Honeybee, both at Oaklawn. She proceeded to run 10th in the Kentucky Oaks in her last start May 6 and, in preparation for her return, has been working at Churchill and Fair Grounds. Among her drills is five-eighths in a bullet 1:00 on Nov. 29 in New Orleans.

Richard Eramia has the mount for Stonestreet Stables and trainer Steve Asmussen.

◗ Phantom Trip, who defeated older rivals in the $170,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup, returns to the Oklahoma-bred 3-year-old ranks for the $50,000 Jim Thorpe. The one-mile race’s counterpart for fillies, the $50,000 Useeit, is led by multiple stakes winner Euro K Shotgun, who seeks to improve her career record to 5 for 5.