Miss Temple City joins division fray in Churchill Distaff Turf Mile

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The horseshoe nailed to the wall outside the first stall in Mark Casse’s shed row, where the recently retired champion Tepin once resided, is a fitting symbol – there are big shoes to fill in a wide-open female turf division.

The popular Lady Eli was beaten a nose in her first start of the season by the streaking Dickinson. Celestine has won both her outings, while La Coronel looks like a rising star for Casse. Time and Motion and Catch a Glimpse faltered in their first outings of the year, while fellow Grade 1 winners Avenge, Dacita, and Sea Calisi have yet to start.

Into this fray comes Eclipse Award finalist Miss Temple City, who gets the chance to add her voice in the Grade 2, $300,000 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile – won the last two years by Tepin – on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Miss Temple City has not raced since winning the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar on Dec. 4 by a nose over Roca Rojo, whom she faces again Saturday. It was her third Grade 1 victory of the season, along with the Maker’s 46 Mile and Shadwell Turf Mile, both against males at Keeneland.

“She won two Grade 1’s against the boys, and yet she’s not champion, which I totally get,” trainer Graham Motion said. “I’m not criticizing, but it just goes to show what a tough division it is – and nobody admires those other ones any more than I do, Tepin and Lady Eli. I think it’s an incredibly tough division.”

Miss Temple City’s major goal this spring is a return trip to the renowned Royal Ascot meeting. Last year, she ran fourth, beaten 3 1/4 lengths, in the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes there.

Motion lost a bit of time with her earlier in the year when she got loose one morning on the backstretch at Palm Meadows, resulting in minor filling in a leg.

“We need to run this weekend if we’re going to go to Ascot,” Motion said. “Maybe in an ideal world you might like to give her one more work. I hope it doesn’t rain as much as they’re calling for. That could be tough, just coming off the layoff. It’s a little tougher when the ground is soft. But she’s doing well.”

Roca Rojo, who began her career in Ireland before coming to Chad Brown’s barn, has won five of seven career starts, including the Grade 3 Athenia last fall at Belmont. She also is making her first start since the Matriarch, and she has been a workmate for Lady Eli.

Harmonize, who spent last year knocking heads with Catch a Glimpse and Time and Motion, picked up a Grade 1 score in the Del Mar Oaks last year and finished second in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs. She most recently was fourth in the Grade 2 Royal Heroine at Santa Anita on April 8.

Mrs. Revere winner Linda and Royal Heroine winner Hillhouse High also are in this field. Linda, who blossomed when switched to turf last summer, finished third behind Celestine in the Grade 2 Honey Fox at Gulfstream in her 2017 debut. Honey Fox runner-up Mississippi Delta also starts Saturday.

Key contenders

Miss Temple City, by Temple City

Last 3 Beyers: 100-104-106

◗ Drew post 2 under Edgar Prado, who rode her to two of her three Grade 1 wins.

◗ Owns the field’s best Beyer Speed Figure, a 108, and has hit triple digits in five of her last six starts.

Roca Rojo, by Strategic Prince

Last 3 Beyers: 100-104-92

◗ She is the only other member of this field to consistently run triple-digit Beyers, including a 104 in winning the Athenia.

◗ Has won on soft turf in both Europe and the U.S.

◗ Will have Florent Geroux aboard from post 6.