Little Alexis in no rush to return to races

MIAMI – Owner-trainer Carlo Vaccarezza said Monday that his Grade 1-placed 3-year-old filly Little Alexis apparently has suffered no permanent damage as a result of the reaction to medication that caused her to spike a fever of 104 degrees immediately following her ninth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 1.

Upon pulling up after the race, Little Alexis’s neck was visibly swollen at the site of an injection she’d received the day before the Breeders’ Cup to administer a vitamin jug. The incident forced Vaccarezza to withdraw his filly from the Fasig-Tipton November sale in Lexington, Ky., where she was scheduled to be sold at auction 48 hours after the Filly and Mare Sprint.

“We scoped her several days ago, and the results show no permanent damage at this time,” said Vaccarezza. “But we still have to wait and see how she reacts to strenuous activity – working and racing – before we can be certain that she’s out of the woods for sure.”

Vaccarezza said Little Alexis galloped for the first time since the Breeders’ Cup at Gulfstream Park on Monday. He said the Grade 3 Sugar Swirl on Dec. 13 was originally under consideration for her return, but at this point, he believes trying to make the race would be rushing things just a bit too much under the circumstances. Vaccarezza said if all went well, he’d likely look for something for his filly after the first of the year.

Little Alexis, who launched her career in February with a victory over My Miss Sophia in a maiden special weight dash, has won 2 of 5 starts while becoming Grade 1-placed with a third-place finish in the Test this summer at Saratoga.

Sugar Swirl field shaping up

Even without Little Alexis, the Sugar Swirl could lure a stellar field. Thank You Marylou, who finished third in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint, looked sharp while working an easy half-mile in 47.57 seconds for trainer Mike Maker here Sunday. And Grade 3 winner Merry Meadow also is pointing to the race, according to trainer Mark Hennig.

Merry Meadow, who captured the Sky Beauty Stakes at Gulfstream Park West by 1 3/4 widening lengths Nov. 1, breezed an easy half-mile in 48.61 seconds before galloping out five furlongs in 1:02.25 at Gulfstream on Monday.

“This is the first time she’s ever been to south Florida,” Hennig said. “But there was really a lapse in the [New York Racing Association] stakes schedule for filly and mare sprinters after the Gallant Bloom. There was really nothing for her up here until the middle of December. We also felt she earned the trip. It took her a while to finally break her maiden, but once she did, she kind of liked the idea, and she’s just been ultra-consistent ever since.”

Merry Meadow finished fourth, beaten three lengths by Artemis Agrotera, in the Gallant Bloom before shipping locally to win the Sky Beauty. Her most important victory this season came in the Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap at Belmont Park. She narrowly missed another Grade 3 win five weeks later when beaten a nose in the Bed o’ Roses. Overall, Merry Meadow has finished third or better in 21 of her 24 starts while banking nearly $540,000 for owners and breeders David Howe and William Parsons.

Hennig has 11 horses stabled at Gulfstream and will have 16 on the grounds by the end of the year. Aside from Merry Meadow, Hennig is planning on running Baffle Me in the $100,000 El Prado Stakes on Dec. 13.