Irish-breds Sigh No More, Pretty Lavish meet again in Boiling Springs
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Sigh No More, a 3-year old filly trained by Brendan Walsh, will make her second start in North America in the $100,000 Boiling Springs Stakes on Sunday at Monmouth Park. The usual adjustments for European shippers have come naturally to her so far.
“They come here from those big galloping tracks in Europe and it’s a big change for them,” Walsh said. “But I thought she ran a decent race and she’s been working very well since. It’s a decent race at Monmouth with a couple nice fillies, but I think she’s one of them.”
Under Joseph O’Brien in Ireland last year, Sigh No More developed a reputation as an all-or-nothing juvenile runner, as she won 3 of 7 starts but ran off the board in her other four races.
In her 3-year-old debut at Pimlico in the $125,000 Hilltop, the filly was making up ground but had to settle for fourth. Walsh plans to give her even more distance in the future, but on Sunday, she will stretch out to 1 1/16 miles.
An Irish-bred rivalry may be brewing in the Boiling Springs, as Sigh No More will get another chance against Pretty Lavish, runner-up in the Hilltop last time out.
Trainer Graham Motion brought her to Tampa Bay Downs for her North American debut earlier this year, where she won a $53,000 allowance before finishing eighth in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks. She was coming off a short layoff in the Hilltop but took a nice step forward in the best race of her four-start career.
Those coming out of the Hilltop may have to contend with two last-out maiden winners trained by Chad Brown. Growth Trajectory won on debut at Monmouth last time out, closing well to win by 3 1/2 lengths. Midway Memories, cross-entered in the $150,000 Penn Oaks on Friday, won her maiden in her second start in April at Aqueduct.
Maryfield Stakes
Volleyballprincess, a 10-length winner of the $125,000 Ruthless at Aqueduct in February, has regressed in three starts since while stepping up in class. Trainer Lou Linder Jr. sees the $100,000 Maryfield Stakes on Sunday at Monmouth Park as a chance to regroup.
After a pair of third-place finishes in the $200,000 Busher Invitational and Grade 2 Beaumont, the filly’s luck ran out last month when she finished ninth in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness. Linder said she suffered a minor setback that day because of the heat.
“It definitely took its toll on her, so we just took a step back and let her bounce back at her own rate,” Linder said. “She’s been breezing very well for this race.”
Volleyballprincess’s stablemate, Ourdaydreaminggirl, will not run in the Maryfield on Sunday. Linder’s other filly was entered in the $100,000 Beyond The Wire at Laurel Park in March, but she had an incident in her stall and scratched. Returning from a four-month layoff to treat a hematoma above her knee and other minor ailments, she will run in a Parx Racing allowance on Wednesday instead.
Volleyballprincess is yet another experienced stakes contender dealing with a last-out maiden winner trained by Brown. Layered won her debut at Monmouth by 7 3/4 lengths in gate-to-wire fashion last month and will break from the rail Sunday.
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