Looking to get back on track, Just Philtored returns to dirt in Miss Disco
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When Just Philtored ran at Colonial Downs last August, she was an undeniable juvenile filly romping home in stakes on dirt and turf with unchallenged authority. She will return to the Virginia track and switch back to dirt in search of her first victory as a 3-year-old in the $125,000 Miss Disco Stakes on Saturday.
“We plan on being there with her, back on the dirt,” trainer Michael Trombetta said. “We’ll see how we do. I think she’ll do well with that distance, and she certainly doesn’t have any problem with the dirt.”
After racking up three stakes victories in seven juvenile starts, Just Philtored made her 3-year-old debut on the grass in May, finishing a well-beaten fifth in the $150,000 Take The A Train at Aqueduct. She came up similarly flat in the $100,000 Stormy Blues at Laurel in June, where she was upset by her stablemate, Hark Theangelssing, who also was entered in the Miss Disco but will scratch.
Back on dirt at seven furlongs, Trombetta said he expects Just Philtored to improve in the shortened state-restricted field of five 3-year-old fillies. Both stakes on Saturday are for runners bred or sired in Virginia or Maryland.
“I don’t think [her recent turf races] have been bad, and I don’t think they’ve been great,” Trombetta said. “I think they’ve been okay races, and hopefully they service her.”
Hark Theangelssing might not be coming back for a rematch, but Just Philtored will again cross paths with Slewperstitus, the runner-up in all three of her stakes victories last year.
Trainer Robert Bailes said he expected Slewperstitus to fire fresh off her winter layoff in April, but after a dull effort in a first-level allowance at Laurel, she returned to the same condition in May and won with a career-best 79 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I was disappointed we didn’t win first time back,” Bailes said. “I thought we had her where we needed to have her, but she came back and it worked out for us.”
Irish Jig, an 8 1/4-length maiden winner at Delaware Park in May, will ship to Colonial after finishing well back in the $175,000 Jersey Girl at Saratoga.
Star de Naskra
The steadily improving gelding Top Manipulator might have been up against it in the $150,000 Chick Lang at Laurel Park last time out, but trainer Tim Keefe still believes he has a future stakes winner in his barn. The Maryland-bred will ship to Colonial and likely find more suitable competition in the $125,000 Star de Naskra Stakes on Saturday.
“It’s definitely a little bit softer,” Keefe said. “It’s restricted for straight 3-year-olds, so it’s definitely a little easier. We’ve been pointing to this race for a while.”
Between January and April, Top Manipulator improved to win three straight races at Laurel, most notably toppling a $63,000 allowance field at 27-1 on April 17. That was the race that convinced Keefe to try the Chick Lang on Preakness Day, but he didn’t stack up in a 13 1/2-length defeat.
Back in more forgiving company, Keefe’s plucky gelding should be a solid contender in the state-restricted field of eight 3-year-olds on Saturday, where he will stretch out to seven furlongs for the first time.
Pont Aven, who also stepped up too far on Preakness Day, will try to get back to his winning ways for Trombetta. The Maryland-bred won back-to-back starts at Laurel before finishing 20 1/2 lengths back in the $100,000 Sir Barton.
“The Sir Barton just didn’t go well,” Trombetta said. “Short field, not a good trip, and obviously might have been in a little deeper than he needed to be.”
Tartabull, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, and Close the Gate, the 3-1 second choice, are both looking for their second victories in their ninth career starts. Tartabull will make his first start for new trainer Rohan Crichton.
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