Joseph pair square off again in Azalea Stakes
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Luvumorgan, a 3-year-old filly trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., will try to earn her second stakes victory in her fourth career start in the $75,000 Azalea Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. After soundly defeating her stablemate Andrea in the $75,000 Game Face last time out, the pair will square off again in a seven-furlong sprint that is restricted to 3-year-old fillies.
When Luvumorgan won a maiden special weight in March traveling 1 1/16 miles, Joseph intended to prepare her for more routes this summer. The Game Face in May was supposed to be a 6 1/2-furlong tune-up off a short layoff, but when she earned an 87 Beyer Speed Figure in a 2 3/4-length victory, her trainer decided to change course.
“Ideally, we wanted a mile race, but we needed to run her,” Joseph said. “We were questioning if the cutback would be too short, but she seemed to handle it well, and seven-eighths should be even better.”
Joseph’s other filly, Andrea, was the shorter price in the Game Face after winning a $53,000 allowance at Tampa Bay Downs by 9 1/4 lengths in April. Though she improved again in her return to stakes company and briefly led in the stretch, she was no match for her stablemate. Joseph was still happy with her performance that day, and her competitive early speed keeps her firmly in the mix in the Azalea’s field of seven.
“I thought she ran well last time,” Joseph said. “She stepped it up and was just beaten. She seems like she’s even doing better, so hopefully she can pick it up this time. She’ll be forwardly placed and she’ll be tough to take back.”
Luvumorgan is certain to command more betting attention than her stablemate in her second stakes start, but a classy rival may challenge her for favoritism. Anna’s Promise, a filly trained by Carlos David, finished fifth in the Kentucky Oaks in May and will cut back to seven furlongs after four straight route attempts.
David claimed the filly for $50,000 on the day of her maiden win in February and didn’t wait long to step her up in class. Off an allowance victory next time out, he entered her in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, where she finished second to qualify for the trip to Churchill Downs.
After finishing fifth in the Kentucky Oaks, a slight but understandable regression from her Gulfstream form, Anna’s Promise stayed in Kentucky and finished third by 11 1/4 lengths in the $175,000 Monomoy Girl in June. It was her worst performance since her juvenile season, and she will now return to Gulfstream. If she can handle the sprint distance on Saturday, she could be a formidable threat to Luvumorgan.
With two daunting contenders entered in the Azalea, several local stakes winners could be overlooked. Andrea won the $85,000 Hallandale Beach in her second career start as a juvenile, while Unchained Elaine, a filly trainer by Patrick Biancone, won the $100,000 Any Limit by two lengths in March. Like Luvumorgan, she also ran in the Game Face off a layoff but faded badly to fifth after scrapping for the early lead.
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