Lucky Folie looks ready to roll in Angel's Flight
ARCADIA, Calif. – Lucky Folie was one of the quickest 2-year-old fillies in California last fall, but she disappeared before she could do something really important.
Six months later, the blazingly fast Lucky Folie returns ready to make a splash in the $75,000 Angel’s Flight Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies Sunday at Santa Anita. Win or lose, Lucky Folie is the one to catch.
“She’s pretty fast,” trainer Richard Mandella said.
Lucky Folie showed speed in all three starts last year. She won first out, finished second in a turf route, and then wired a seven-furlong stakes at Los Alamitos after a blistering 44.99-second half-mile.
Lucky Folie got sick afterward, and that was it for her 2-year-old campaign. Based on her recent workouts, back-to-back bullet drills at six furlongs, she is ready to fire. “She’s worked real good. I think she’ll run real good,” Mandella said.
She will need to because the Angel’s Flight came up tough. Grade 2 winner Forever Darling drops in class and shortens up to a sprint. Bellamentary also drops in class and catches a surface that’s expected to be fast. She disliked a sloppy track last out.
Allowance winners Everqueen and Mitzi Winks, stakes winner Kiss N Scat, and two others are also entered.
Angel’s Flight, Race 8
KEY CONTENDERS
Lucky Folie, by Distorted Humor
Last 3 Beyers: 77-76-85
◗ The addition of Lasix is a preemptive measure, according to Mandella.
“She never bled, but she got sick. Her lungs were inflamed. Once they get sick, they tend to bleed,” Mandella said. “It’s preventative. I’m not looking to start a problem.”
◗ Mandella would have preferred a shorter distance than seven furlongs.
“I wish it was six because she’s fast enough to be dangerous to herself,” he said, meaning a fast pace at seven furlongs in her first start back could compromise her chances.
◗ Flavien Prat, who rode Lucky Folie in her debut victory, regains the mount.
Bellamentary, by Bellamy Road
Last 3 Beyers: 77-78-72
◗ She finished fifth last out in the Santa Anita Oaks, 10 lengths behind Songbird. Trainer Phil D’Amato believes the filly was compromised by a wet track.
“It was kind of a sticky, slippery kind of track. I don’t think she handled it at all,” D’Amato said. “Rafael [Bejarano] told me he thought he was in trouble in the post parade because she was all over the place trying to get her grip.”
◗ Martin Garcia takes over on Bellamentary, who won a seven-furlong allowance race two starts back. A two-time winner from four starts, she finished second to Lucky Folie last summer when both fillies made their debut at Del Mar.
Forever Darling, by Congrats
Last 3 Beyers: 83-47-79
◗ She finished last in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds, followed by a fourth-place finish in the Santa Anita Oaks. Both races were around two turns. Forever Darling is 2 for 2 sprinting at Santa Anita, including the Grade 2 Santa Ynez in January.
“Seven-eighths to a mile is probably her best distance,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “She’s ready to run, training good.”
◗ Bejarano regains the mount on Forever Darling.