Lady Serena looks for black type in Barely Even Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The quest to get some black type for the well-bred Lady Serena returns to Gulfstream Park on Sunday when she faces seven rivals in the $75,000 Barely Even Stakes for fillies and mares going a mile on the main track.

Lady Serena, by Bernardini, is a three-quarter sister to the multiple Grade 1 winner Honor Code. She began her career with trainer Chad Brown before being transferred to Joe Sharp this summer.

Lady Serena, 4, has started just twice this year, with both of her races coming on turf. She finished sixth in the Powder Break Stakes here on April 30 and in the Miss Liberty one month later at Monmouth Park. Both of her wins came over the main track at Belmont during the spring of her 3-year-old campaign.

“I got her a month ago, she came to me in great condition from Chad, and we’re just trying to get her some black type to increase her value as a broodmare,” said Sharp. “She’s been working well and doing great for this race.”

Lady Serena encounters a couple of red-hot rivals in Miss Hollywood and Skyluck.

It’s taken some time for Miss Hollywood to start paying dividends on her $1.35 million purchase price, but the 4-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon certainly seems to have turned the corner after winning her last two starts by a combined 20 lengths. Trained by Giuseppe Iadisernia for Run Hard Stables, Miss Hollywood stretched out to a mile to dominate first-level optional-claiming company by 9 1/4 lengths on June 2 following an easy maiden win nearly eight weeks earlier.

Skyluck, 4, did not get to the races until January, but she made up for lost time by winning her first three starts, including a one-mile allowance race at Mountaineer Park by nearly four lengths on May 15. Skyluck is daughter of Lookin At Lucky and a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Workin for Hops. She is one of two horses in the Barely Even field trained by Eric Reed, along with Welcome Aboard.

◗ The spring meeting ended Thursday with Emisael Jaramillo easily winning his first U.S. riding title and Antonio Sano edging out Ralph Nicks, 18-16, for the training crown. The closing-day mandatory Rainbow 6 payoff was $3,234.

◗ Jockey Leonel Reyes will have plenty of momentum going into the summer session after posting a hat trick on Thursday. He won aboard Billion Star (race 3) for Sano, Heartbreaker Girl (race 7) for trainer Juan Rodriguez, and Ana’s Pride (race 8) to give trainer Mario Morales his first win from limited starters in 2016.

Pioneer Pete’s victory off a one-year layoff in Thursday’s sixth race was also the first win this season for trainer Mickey Kroger.

◗ Gulfstream Park will host the Clasico Internacional del Caribe, the premier Thoroughbred race for 3-year-olds in Latin America, in 2017. Gulfstream will be the first track outside of Latin America to host the Clasico del Caribe since its inception in 1966.