Little Alexis returns home to prep for BC Filly and Mare Sprint

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Little Alexis, who finished a wide-running fourth in the Grade 1 Cotillion, has returned to her South Florida base at Gulfstream Park, where she will begin preparations for her next start, which is set to come in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

The Filly and Mare Sprint also will be Little Alexis’s final start in the silks of owner Priscilla Vaccarezza. Her trainer, Carlo Vaccarezza, said he is entered in an arrangement with Hill ‘n’ Dale to sell Little Alexis at the Fasig-Tipton November mixed sale at Keeneland 48 hours after she runs in the Breeders’ Cup.

“She came back here in great shape from Parx,” Vaccarezza said. “She never really had much of a chance over a track that favored speed like it did last Saturday, especially when getting hung out wide all the way. I thought she did well to finish fourth. The turn back to seven furlongs for the Breeders’ Cup should suit her well. She already proved she could handle the distance the way she ran in the Test.”

Little Alexis overcame early trouble to finish a late-striding third, beaten just a length by Sweet Reason, in the Grade 1 Test this summer at Saratoga.

“We’ve got a flight out of here for all the local Breeders’ Cup horses on Oct. 19,” Vaccarezza said. “She’ll have her final work here the day before she leaves. She’s already Grade 1 placed, and a good effort in the Breeders’ Cup should create a lot of enthusiasm for her at the sale.”

Delgado finds success in U.S.

Trainer Gustavo Delgado’s first venture into racing in the United States certainly has been an unequivocal success. With less than two weeks to go in the meet, Delgado sits atop the standings, with Kirk Ziadie and David Fawkes as his two closest pursuers.

Delgado came to the U.S. at the behest of jockeys Javier Castellano and Junior Alvarado, who began their riding careers in Venezuela before moving on to even greater success in this country.

Delgado is no stranger to success in his native country, where he won the equivalent of the Triple Crown four times, including with Water Jet in 2010 and Taconeo in 2007. He also saddled five winners of the Clasico Simon Bolivar, Venezuela’s premier race, and won Latin America’s premier 3-year-old event, the Grade 1 Clasico International del Caribe, three times.

Delgado arrived in Miami in March with 25 horses and picked up considerable support from the U.S.-based P&G Stable.

“P&G gave me a big opportunity,” Delgado said. “Although, I did not expect to do this well. I’m surprised.”

Delgado is in the process of upgrading his stock, having purchased four high-priced yearlings at the Keeneland September Sale, including a $750,000 full brother to Grade 1 winner To Honor and Serve and a $700,000 daughter of Tapit.

“It’s possible I will stay in Miami, but it’s also possible I might go to New York or elsewhere,” Delgado said. “For now, I’m just hoping that by the end of this meet, I can win the title.”

P&G Stables is in a dogfight for leading owner at the meet, which ends Oct. 4. That duel figures to come down to the wire along with Jacks or Better Farm and Frank Carl Calabrese.

◗ Jockey Arny Fontanez has been the major beneficiary since fellow apprentice Michael Ritvo left town last month. Fontanez, who has climbed to fourth in the standings for the current stanza, had one of his biggest days Thursday when posting three victories over the sloppy and speed-favoring track.

Two of those wins came for Ziadie, with the 3-5 Yes It’s True in the second race and Elusive Harmony ($9.80) in the ninth event. Fontanez also won the third race for trainer Wesley Ward aboard Belsize Park ($11.00).