Miss Bigly stands out in Tranquility Lake Stakes
DEL MAR, Calif. – Miss Bigly already looks formidable Friday at Del Mar. Given that her main rival in the $80,000 Tranquility Lake Stakes could ship east, Miss Bigly may start as the most probable winner of the penultimate week of the meet.
Six fillies and mares entered the Tranquility Lake, a mile dirt race restricted to nonwinners of a stakes worth $50,000 to the winner since Feb. 1. Miss Bigly, runner-up in both recent starts, fits the conditions perfectly. So does Miss Stormy D, who earned $45,000 crushing a minor stakes last out at Pleasanton.
Miss Stormy D, named for adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, is under consideration for a race next month at Laurel. Trainer Carla Gaines plans to run Miss Stormy D in either the Tranquility Lake or $100,000 Twixt Stakes on Sept. 18 at Laurel, but not both.
“I’m thinking about going to Laurel, it’s a one-turn mile and sounds very interesting,” Gaines said.
Whether she runs at Del Mar or Laurel, Miss Stormy D’s racing career is winding down. Owned by Keith Brackpool, Miss Stormy D is scheduled to be sold at auction this fall as a broodmare prospect. She has four wins and $272,540 in earnings from 17 starts.
Miss Bigly is the one to beat Friday, with or without Miss Stormy D. The four others in the Tranquility Lake are Grade 1-placed Paige Anne, Grade 2-placed First Star, stakes winner Nasty, and allowance winner Harper’s Gallop.
Phil D’Amato trains Miss Bigly, whose progress this season resembles the progress of her trainer this summer. Miss Bigly lost her first two starts for D’Amato, then improved when he ran her long on dirt in March at Santa Anita.
“She won a nice little starter allowance, and I think it picked her head up,” D’Amato said. “We sent her back East, where there were more opportunities for her, and she just got better and better.”
Miss Bigly won an allowance at Oaklawn, and finished second in stakes at Churchill Downs and Thistledown.
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“She’s been knocking on the door in nice stakes against good horses,” D’Amato said. “We decided to bring her back, and the Tranquility Lake looks like a logical spot for her.”
Based on current form, class, running style, and speed figures, Miss Bigly looks tough to beat for a stable holding a hot hand.
After going 1 for 31 the first three weeks of the meet, D’Amato went 9 for 41 the past three weeks and entered this week tied for fourth in the standings. Juan Hernandez, third-leading rider at the meet, worked Miss Bigly twice over the track and rides her Friday.
Paige Anne finished third last out in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes. Nasty is a stakes winner on turf but unproven on dirt. First Star, Grade 2-placed early in her career, has yet to regain top form. Harper’s Gallop moves up in class after a decisive entry-level allowance win at Los Alamitos.
First post time Friday changes to 3:30 p.m. Pacific.