Groupie Doll winner Go Google Yourself being pointed to Grade 3 Locust Grove

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Now that Go Google Yourself has won her first stakes, the 4-year-old filly will go for graded type next – and might not have to face any of the Grade 1 winners she met in June.

Fresh from her three-length victory Sunday at Ellis Park in the $125,000 Groupie Doll, Go Google Yourself will be pointed to the Grade 3, $200,000 Locust Grove on Sept. 14 at her home track of Churchill Downs, said trainer Paul McGee.

Go Google Yourself finished fourth in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on June 15, the last graded race at Churchill in the filly-mare division. The 1 1/16-mile Locust Grove is not expected to get the 1-2-3 finishers from that race, the Grade 1 winners Elate, Blue Prize, and She’s a Julie.

Although trainer Ignacio Correas said this week that Blue Prize “maybe” will run back in the Locust Grove after she races Sunday in the Summer Colony at Saratoga, it’s less likely that Elate or She’s a Julie would wheel back in three weeks after they run in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on the Aug. 24 Travers undercard at Saratoga.

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That change of characters should leave Go Google Yourself in a favorable position following a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure under Brian Hernandez Jr. in the one-mile Groupie Doll, her 15th race. The bay Into Mischief filly, owned and bred by Samantha Siegel, now has five wins and earnings of $342,985.

“She came out of it good and we’re very happy with her,” said McGee.

The Groupie Doll, the annual signature race at Ellis in western Kentucky, had been a Grade 3 since 1990 until being downgraded ahead of the 2019 running.

The Locust Grove will be one of four stakes on the first Saturday of the 11-day September meet, along with the Open Mind and the twin Win and You’re In races for 2-year-olds, the Pocahontas and Iroquois. The Iroquois is the next target for Dennis’ Moment, the exciting prospect who earned a 97 Beyer in a July 27 maiden romp at Ellis for trainer Dale Romans.

Meanwhile, Gray Magician put forth a second straight big effort when earning a 93 Beyer in winning the race that followed the Groupie Doll, the $95,570 Ellis Park Derby at a mile. The gray son of Graydar adds that triumph to a runner-up finish (and a career-best 96 Beyer) behind Mr. Money in the Indiana Derby in his two starts since finishing last of 19 in the May 4 Kentucky Derby. Corey Lanerie was aboard for trainer Peter Miller in the half-length score Sunday.

“We are looking at all options,” Miller said this week from California, listing as many as five possibilities, both on dirt and turf.

Gray Magician, part of Miller’s string at Churchill, is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbreds, Gary Barber, and Wachtel Stable.