Justique tries to rebound in Desi Arnaz, but it won't be easy

DEL MAR, Calif. – Redemption will not come easy for the summer darling of the California 2-year-old filly division.

Justique returns Saturday in the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar, the same track on which she scored an impressive debut victory before her campaign fizzled. While hopes are high for Justique on Saturday, the challenges are even higher.

First off, her main rival is simply faster. Justique earned a 72 Beyer Speed Figure in her debut, which pales to Blessed Touch’s 90. Secondly, Justique drew the rail in the seven-furlong Desi Arnaz and must rally from behind, while Blessed Touch drew outside as likely pacesetter.

Yet while Justique has her work cut out in the Desi Arnaz, trainer John Shirreffs is confident the filly will return to form after a season interrupted first by a summer illness and then by a comeback misfire when she finished a distant third in the Grade 2 Chandelier.

Beyond her flashy debut, reasons for optimism include a blazing 58-flat workout Sunday and a return to familiar footing.

“A lot of little things,” Shirreffs said. “It’s seven-eighths, it’s not a mile and a sixteenth. And she’s on the track where she broke her maiden.”

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As for the fast work, Shirreffs said “she did it perfectly. She’s a filly that needs somebody in front of her, she needs a target. She worked behind [a maiden] and did it perfectly. Her ability to accelerate and to catch horses without a lot of effort . . . that’s how she did it.”

Victor Espinoza rode Justique in the work and rides her Saturday. A Justify filly owned by Lee and Susan Searing, Justique can be forgiven for her 5 1/2-length defeat last out in the Chandelier. In hindsight, it was a lot to ask – racing 1 1/16 miles in her second career start after recovering from illness.

“We were hoping she would run a little better, but it didn’t turn out that way,” Shirreffs acknowledged. He noted the Santa Anita track “was a very tiring racetrack, and she herself was very tired after the race. But she’s done very well since then.”

Justique will need to do better, because romping maiden winner Blessed Touch could be long gone in the Desi Arnaz. Tim Yakteen trains the Girvin filly, who broke slowly in her debut and lost by more than 10 lengths. Second out, she delivered one of the season’s fastest performances by a juvenile filly to win by more than eight lengths.

“She ran more professional and had a cleaner trip,” Yakteen said. “I can’t say we were expecting that, but we’ll take it. She came out of her race in great shape.”

Blessed Touch’s smashing maiden earned a 90 Beyer, the year’s highest figure by a juvenile filly in California and fourth-highest in the country. Drayden Van Dyke rides Blessed Touch.

Others in the Desi Arnaz include Bob Baffert-trained Huntingcoco and Parody; route-to-sprint upset candidate Naughty Lottie; and a pair of outsiders – Smokem For You and Daddy Classy Dill.

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