Lady Eli looks sharp prepping for Wonder Again

ELMONT, N.Y. - For the second straight morning, trainer Chad Brown had another impressive platoon of horses putting workouts in over Belmont Park’s inner turf course, led by his undefeated 3-year-old filly Lady Eli.

Lady Eli, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.16 in company with Testa Rossi. Though both fillies were given the same time, Lady Eli did it much more comfortably and in hand than her stablemate. Lady Eli is pointing to next Sunday’s $200,000 Wonder Again Stakes at Belmont Park, a prep for the $1 million Belmont Oaks on July 4.

“I see a bigger, stronger horse,” Brown said of Lady Eli, who improved to 4 for 4 after winning the Grade 3 Appalachian at Keeneland on April 12. “Not to take anything away from her at 2. She was brilliant. She has that explosive turn of foot still, but she has gotten bigger and stronger. She continues to amaze me when I watch her train.”

Brown said he is not sure where Testa Rossi will make her next start. She was elevated to first by the stewards in the Grade 3 Endeavour Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in January and had difficult trips when fourth in the Grade 2 Santa Ana at Santa Anita and fifth in the Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont.

Strict Compliance and Mrs McDougal, recent allowance winners for Brown, worked five furlongs in company in 1:01.12, with a very strong last quarter of 22.12 seconds. Brown said both are under consideration for the Grade 1, $400,000 American Oaks at Santa Anita next Saturday.

The tandem of Il Campione and Ghurair finished in 22.45 seconds in a five-furlong move that went in 1:00.51 Il Campione, a multiple Group 1 stakes winner in Chile, has won 8 of 10 lifetime starts and has been working pretty steadily since mid-April. Ghurair is making his way back from an issue that sidelined him since winning a third-level allowance race at Saratoga last August. Brown has no specific race picked out for either of those two horses.

With Brown pointing Takeover Target to Saturday’s Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont, he will run Night Prowler in the $500,000 Penn Mile at Penn National on Saturday. Night Prowler, winner of the Grade 3 Transylvania at Keeneland in April, worked five furlongs in 1:02.65 in company with the older male Slumber.

Consumer Credit, winner of the Memories of Silver Stakes at Aqueduct, worked five furlongs in 1:02.41 in company with fellow 3-year-old filly Sivoliere. Plans for those two were also uncertain.