Lady Pimpernel favored in Astra marathon
ARCADIA, Calif. – Lady Pimpernel won the first graded stakes of her career in the $200,000 Robert J. Frankel Stakes on turf Dec. 27 at Santa Anita.
When she starts in the $75,000 Astra Stakes for fillies and mares over 1 1/2 miles Sunday, the purse will be a fraction of the Grade 3 Frankel, but the distance has significant appeal to trainer Carla Gaines.
“[Distance races] are few and far between,” she said. “She’s healthy. Why not?”
The 5-year-old Lady Pimpernel has won three of her last four starts and will be favored in the Astra Stakes, which drew a field of nine. Lady Pimpernel is the only filly in the field who was a stakes winner in 2014.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Lady Pimpernel. Trainer Carla Gaines is 17-2-3-2 with a $0.52 ROI over the past two years in turf routes with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Key contenders
Lady Pimpernel (Last 2 Beyers: 87-89)
* Arguably, Lady Pimpernel should be unbeaten since arriving from England in the autumn. In her U.S. debut in the Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap over 1 3/8 miles on turf at Del Mar in November, Lady Pimpernel raced in traffic at times through the final three furlongs and was beaten three-quarters of a length.
“I think if she’d gotten a clean trip at Del Mar, she would have won that,” Gaines said.
* Owned by Triton Racing, Lady Pimpernel has won 5 of 16 starts. In an 11-day span in England in August, she beat males in a minor handicap over 1 1/4 miles at Newmarket and won the Upavon Fillies Stakes over the same distance at Salisbury.
* Those results, combined with the enthusiasm in training that Gaines saw from Lady Pimpernel after the Frankel, have led to the start in the Astra Stakes.
“She was doing so well,” Gaines said. “She’s acting like she enjoyed herself.”
Lady of Gold (Last 3 Beyers: 86-89-84)
* Lady of Gold was second in the Red Carpet Handicap and fourth in the Frankel Stakes, closing from off the pace in both races to lose by a half-length. This will be Lady of Gold’s first start at 1 1/2 miles. She was second in the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes over 1 1/4 miles at Woodbine in November.
Scooter Bird (Last 3 Beyers: 75-89-86)
* Scooter Bird won an allowance race for fillies and mares over 1 1/2 miles on turf here in October but was disappointing in her next two starts – finishing fourth in the Red Carpet and eighth in the Frankel. The longer distance of Sunday’s race could help reverse recent results.
Kitten’s Point (Last 3 Beyers: 72-92-88)
* Kitten’s Point has been seventh or eighth in her last three starts, encountering trouble or racing against better company than she’ll face in the Astra. Kitten’s Point was seventh in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland in April and the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes there in October. In the Kathryn Crosby Stakes over a mile on turf Nov. 7 at Del Mar, Kitten’s Point was the 5-2 favorite but hopped at the start and finished eighth, beaten six lengths.
* The Astra Stakes will be the longest race of her career.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Kitten's Point and No. 5 Lady of Gold. Trainer Graham Motion is 46-10-5-6 with a $4.12 ROI over the past two years in turf routes of 12 furlongs and longer. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan