Harvey's Lil Goil back on turf for Dueling Grounds Oaks

After Harvey’s Lil Goil finished third in the Alabama Stakes, trainer Bill Mott mentioned the Oaks in Kentucky as a possible next stop for the talented 3-year-old filly. Indeed, Harvey’s Lil Goil has shipped from New York to Kentucky, but not for the Oaks that Mott mentioned.

Harvey’s Lil Goil passed the Kentucky Oaks last Friday at Churchill and instead starts Thursday as the likely favorite in the $500,000 Dueling Grounds Oaks. The filly, by American Pharoah out of Gloria S., by Tapit, has proven surface-versatile, winning the Busanda on dirt this past winter and the nine-furlong Regret on turf in the spring.

Harvey’s Lil Goil, owned by her breeder, Harvey Clarke, and Paul Braverman, ran her best race yet in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama. She stumbled at the start, leaving her farther behind the pace than desirable, made a strong move around the far turn, looking briefly like a win threat, and flattened out in deep stretch, passed for second by Bonny South as Swiss Skydiver, one of the divisional standouts, scored impressively.

In the Regret, her second turf start and sixth career race, Harvey’s Lil Goil tracked a solid pace and held on by a head over favored Crystal Cliffs, and with a better start Thursday under Jose Ortiz, who never has ridden the filly, Harvey’s Lil Goil can take up a prominent early position in the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Grounds Oaks. Off a 95 Beyer Speed Figure in a Grade 1, however, her win price figures to lack appeal.

Trainer Mike Stidham comes off a memorable weekend that saw him win the Jim Dandy at Saratoga with Mystic Guide and the Del Mar Derby with Pixelate, and Stidham said as of Monday the plan was to run both his Dueling Grounds Oaks entrants, Micheline and Embossed.

:: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more.

Micheline finished sixth in the Regret, beaten a little more than three lengths by Harvey’s Lil Goil following a wide trip from the back of the field. Aug. 28, she was a close fourth in the Grade 3 Lake George at Saratoga, and Stidham thinks Thursday’s longer trip could help.

“She’s a filly that keeps coming and I think she’ll like the longer distance,” Stidham said.

Joel Rosario, who piloted Mystic Guide, is named to ride Micheline, while Umberto Rispoli, who rode Pixelate on Sunday, has a call on Embossed.

Embossed hasn’t accomplished as much as her stablemate, but hasn’t been worse than third in four turf starts and has a pedigree suggesting she’ll thrive in longer races than she’s tried.

A dozen fillies form the field’s main body with three more, including the talented dirt runner Envoutante, on the also-eligible list.

Stunning Sky, second in the Lake George, also rates a chance but might prove less effective than the favorites going 1 5/16 miles.