Indy Bay, Beauty Reigns have big Beyer edge in Jersey Girl Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Indy Bay and Beauty Reigns have both made changes this year – one in terms of connections, the other in distance. The two bring last-out Beyer Speed Figures of 90 and 91, respectively, into Sunday’s $150,000 Jersey Girl Stakes at Saratoga. Nobody else in the six-furlong sprint has topped 80.

After finishing third and second in her first two starts, Indy Bay was purchased by C2 Racing Stable, Paul Braverman, and Timothy Pinch and transferred from trainer Thomas Vance to Saffie Joseph Jr. She won her maiden in her next start at Gulfstream Park and then relaxed better than in prior starts last time out at Oaklawn Park, posting an honest allowance/optional-claiming win.

Sitting fourth at the quarter pole of that six-furlong affair, Indy Bay launched a wide rally to win by three-quarters of a length, with the top two getting good separation from the rest of the field. The effort earned her a 90 Beyer.

“She’s very easygoing, but she’s a filly that steps it up on race day,” Joseph said. “She showed a new dimension to come from off the pace last out. If she can lead it, she can. She’s very versatile.”Laid-back tactics could be key for Indy Bay in a field that appears to have plenty of speed. Long Neck Paula used pace-pressing tactics to win the Prairie Meadows Debutante and then the Bowman Mill against colts at Keeneland last year. Last time out, she set the pace and finished second in the Palisades at Keeneland, also against colts.

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Paula’s a Star also has shown speed against the boys, checking in third in the Jimmy Winkfield at Aqueduct after leading early. Nilo’s Rose wired an Aqueduct field last time out.

Beauty Reigns, trained by Bill Mott, will likely sit behind an expected hot pace. Off a debut win sprinting at Aqueduct last November, the filly was sixth in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at 1 1/8 miles, a tall order for a second start.

Against lesser competition, she was then fourth in a 1 1/16-mile allowance/optional claimer, prompting Mott to cut her back to one turn. She responded with an improved second at Keeneland behind Evanescence, who went on to finish third in the Grade 2 Eight Belles and who is entered in the Leslie’s Lady Stakes on Sunday at Churchill Downs. In her next outing, Beauty Reigns earned a 91 Beyer in an allowance win at Churchill over another solid field as next-out winner Stable Currency was third.

Like Beauty Reigns, Italian Soiree tried two turns with little success. The filly has back class around one turn at Saratoga. After winning her debut at Aqueduct for John Terranova, she was second in the Grade 3 Adirondack locally to the talented The Queens M G. She proceeded to finish off the board in her next four races, all stakes at a mile or longer, three of which were on turf.

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