Maryquitecontrary reboots at home track in Princess Rooney, part of mandatory Rainbow 6

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Although Joe Catanese was the trainer of record for her first seven starts, Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey had her this summer, and she now resides in the barn of David Fawkes, nobody knows Maryquitecontrary better than exercise rider Lisa Bartkowski, who believes the Grade 2 winner is ready to get back to her winning ways in Saturday’s $200,000 Princess Rooney Invitational at Gulfstream Park.

The Grade 3 Princess Rooney will be decided at seven furlongs and remains a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, awarding the winner an automatic starting berth in the $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 4. The Princess Rooney is the second of two stakes on Saturday’s card along with the $75,000 Miss Gracie for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and 70 yards on the Tapeta course.

Both stakes are part of a Rainbow 6 sequence, beginning with race 5, that will have a mandatory payout. Track officials are estimating a gross pool of over $1.2 million.

Maryquitecontrary won six of her first seven starts, the lone setback a second-place finish to Last Leaf in the seven-furlong Azalea in her second lifetime outing. All seven races were run over her home grounds at Gulfstream, with three of the victories coming in stakes, including the one-mile Rampart and Grade 2 Inside Information during the 2022-23 championship meet.

Maryquitecontrary was transferred by owner-breeder Rodney Lundock to McGaughey shortly after the Inside Information to pursue more lucrative opportunities up north. The strategy returned quick dividends when she finished a game second, beaten just a length by reigning filly and mare sprint champion Goodnight Olive in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland on April 8.

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But after some time off due to a minor illness and disappointing performances at Saratoga in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss and Grade 1 Ballerina, Maryquitecontrary returned to South Florida, where she was reunited with Bartkowski to prepare for the Princess Rooney.

“It took her a little time to reacclimate herself to the warmer weather after coming back from New York, but right now I think she’s as good as she ever was,” said Bartkowski, who galloped and worked Maryquitecontrary on a regular basis in the months leading up to her debut win in the spring of 2022 until she shipped north with McGaughey.

Maryquitecontrary has had three works since returning, culminating with an eye-catching half mile in 46.39 seconds earlier this week. She covered her final quarter in 22.78 under light urging before galloping out five furlongs in 59.61.

“She’s awesome,” said Bartkowski. “She just responds every time with very little urging. It’s such an unbelievable pleasure to get on her in the morning. She was expertly handled right from the start, brought along slowly, and the improvement was notable from race to race. She was probably a little overmatched in her two starts in New York and it’s possible she didn’t really care for that track at Saratoga. But she couldn’t be any better now.”

Maryquitecontrary will carry high weight of 123 pounds in the Princess Rooney, including her regular jockey, Luca Panici.

The Princess Rooney lured a field of nine that also features Last Leaf, a multiple stakes winner locally who ships back to South Florida from Kentucky, where she was stakes-placed twice earlier this year.

R Adios Jersey figures to attract plenty of attention coming off arguably her best race since crossing the finish line first in the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks more than two years earlier. Racing without blinkers for the first time, R Adios Jersey registered a one-sided 6 1/2-length triumph as the favorite in the seven-furlong Sheer Drama Stakes for Florida-breds here Aug. 19, earning a lifetime-best 91 Beyer Figure.

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She finished fourth, beaten just four lengths by Maryquitecontrary, after setting a contested pace, when the pair first met in the Inside Information.

Leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has entered three fillies – Bluefield, Three Witches, and Rosie’s Halo. Bluefield, who has not finished worse than second in six starts since joining Joseph’s barn a little over a year ago, appears the best of the trio, although she has been idle since finishing second in the Saylorville Stakes at Prairie Meadows on July 7.

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