Leo's Starlet wins at Saint-Cloud, stays unbeaten

Owner William J. Preston appears to have himself a hot prospect for the French Oaks in Leo's Starlet. A homebred Galileo filly, bred in Ireland by Prestonwood Farm, Leo's Starlet extended her unbeaten record to 3 for 3 at Saint-Cloud on Thursday by winning the $125,000 Group 3 Cleopatre, a key 1 5/16-mile prep for the Oaks.

A winner in her first two starts on the Deauville Polytrack in a maiden race last November and an allowance on March 21, both at 1 3/16 miles, Leo's Starlet prevailed in the Cleopatre by three-quarters of a length over Antiquities. Trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre and ridden by Christophe Lemaire, the 4-1 winner covered the distance in 2:13.60 on a very soft turf course and has now won her three starts by a combined 5 3/4 lengths. The $1.25 million Prix de Diane, or French Oaks, will be run at Chantilly at a distance of 1 5/16 miles on June 8.

Prestonwood Farm, whose Special Ring won the 2002 Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar and who finished unplaced in two Breeders' Cup Miles, has had only a handful of runners in America in recent years since being sold and becoming WinStar Farm. Leo's Starlet is Preston's only horse in traing with Royer-Dupre, who is the private trainer in France for the Aga Khan, whose Sanjida finished third as the favorite in the Cleopatre.