Monmouth Park: Destiny's Child wants pace to chase in Boiling Springs Stakes

OCEANPORT, N.J. – The German-bred Destiny’s Child had shipping issues on the way to her U.S. debut Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Boiling Springs Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the turf at Monmouth Park.

She spiked a temperature on arrival last weekend at the quarantine station in Newburgh, N.Y.

“She had a temperature of 102 or 103,” said Barry Irwin, head of the Team Valor International ownership group. “It’s the first horse we’ve shipped since the early ’90s that arrived with a temperature like that.”

Destiny’s Child quickly bounced back and was vanned down to Monmouth after the 48-hour quarantine period.

“She got over it in a day,” Irwin said. “If it wasn’t for that, I would feel a lot better about her chances. She’s starting to drink a little water.”

[bc_video_id:255204:]The daughter of Soldier Hollow adds an international flavor to the 1 1/16-mile contest.

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Destiny’s Child started racing in Ireland, getting her maiden win over the synthetic track at Dundalk in her third try back in February. That was the effort that caught Irwin’s eye.

“She put in a tremendous run just to catch up,” Irwin said. “I just thought going farther than that on turf, with her pedigree, she had room to improve. She’s not very big. As she matures, I think she’ll be a pretty nice horse.”

After the purchase by Team Valor, Destiny’s Child made three starts in Germany that produced a trio of fourth-place finishes and convinced Irwin that a change in venue was in order.

“The main reason we brought her here is that she’s a little on the headstrong side,” Irwin said. “She needs some pace to run at, and she wasn’t getting it over there. She ran against good company, some of the best milers over there. She was her own worst enemy because she was rank and wasted most of her energy early in the race.”

Irwin hopes American-style racing, and the addition of blinkers, will help her relax.

Somali Lemonade will look to rebound after bobbling at the start of Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont Park and running fourth as the 4-5 favorite. Zultanite was third in the Sands Point, beaten only a neck at 23-1.

The field also includes the first four finishers from Monmouth’s Boiling Springs prep, the Little Silver Stakes: Dancing Solo, Glamour N Glory, Senator Beck, and Cheimon.

Hearts of Red and Zucchini Flower complete the field.