If McCarthy can get her there, Ce Ce might run in Princess Rooney
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla – With Bell’s the One opting to stay at home and capturing last Saturday’s Roxelana Stakes at Churchill Downs and trainer Wesley Ward looking elsewhere for Kimari’s next start, Ce Ce becomes the only Grade 1 winner still in consideration for the $350,000 Princess Rooney Invitational here July 3.
On Monday, trainer Michael McCarthy confirmed that the Grade 2 Princess Rooney could still be in the cards for Ce Ce, who posted back-to-back victories in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile and Grade 1 Apple Blossom during late winter and early spring of 2020. Although Ce Ce has had limited experience at the seven-furlong distance of the Princess Rooney, she did register a relatively easy 3 1/4-length victory against three rivals going seven furlongs under allowance conditions on April 17 for her lone tally since the 1 1/16-mile Apple Blossom one year earlier.
McCarthy cited transportation issues as among the key factors whether he will ship Ce Ce from her Santa Anita base to Gulfstream Park for the Princess Rooney, with Tex Sutton air transport still out of operation due to a leasing issue. McCarthy said a final decision on her status for the race, which highlights the Summit of Speed program along with the Grade 3 Smile Sprint Invitational, would be made following her next work. Ce Ce breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 last Friday at Santa Anita.
Among the incentives that might bring Ce Ce to South Florida for the Princess Rooney are that it is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge event and that Ce Ce’s owner, Bo Hirsch LLC, would receive a payment of $20,000 if she does start because she is a Grade 1 winner.