Merry Meadow comes back strong in Princess Rooney

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla . - Merry Meadow made a triumphant return to south Florida while earning an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in the process with a 1 3/4-length victory over Flutterby in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney on Sunday at Gulfstream Park. The question now, for trainer Mark Hennig and his owners, William Parsons Jr. and David Howe, is whether they will accept the bid.

Merry Meadow, idle since her sixth-place finish in the seven-furlong Inside Information here on March 21, stalked the pace of Flutterby before asserting her superiority in late stretch. Flutterby wound up loose on the early lead after R Free Roll missed the break. But she ultimately proved no match for Merry Meadow while easily second best, finishing 2 1/2 lengths in front of the late-striding Kiss to Remember.

Javier Castellano rode Merry Meadow, giving him his third straight stakes victory on the Summit of Speed program.

Merry Meadow won the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie and Grade 3 Sugar Swirl last winter.

The Princess Rooney was decided at six furlongs. The Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, to be held for the first time this year at Keeneland, will be run at seven furlongs and therein lies the dilemma for the connections of Merry Meadow.

“We’ve got to discuss whether the seven-eighths is optimal for her,” said Hennig when asked about the Breeders’ Cup. “Honestly, it’s not her best distance, especially when you take her out of her game like what happened in the Inside Information. But you might take a shot, because it’s going to kind of be the end of her career and you don’t have to run her much in between.”

Hennig, who won the Princess Rooney when it was run at Calder in 2002 and 2003 with Gold Mover, said the pace scenario didn’t quite work out the way he had expected.

“That wasn’t the trip I was hoping for,” said Hennig. “I expected Flutterby and R Free Roll would go and we’d be sitting off them and not have to go after that filly [Flutterby] early. That horse is good right now. She got alone out there, but when our filly is fresh, she’s double tough.”

Merry Meadow completed six furlongs over a fast track in 1:09. 29 and paid $4.80.