Mother Goose lures tough trio
The Mother Goose on Saturday at Belmont Park could turn into quite a brawl. Rachel’s Valentina will be making her fifth consecutive Grade 1 start. Lewis Bay finished in front of Rachel’s Valentina in the Kentucky Oaks. Lightstream has yet to be beaten.
Not much separates the three, and a one-turn race at 1 1/16 miles seems a fair distance to match them up. Not to be overlooked in the seven-horse field is Off the Tracks, who ran a career-best race to finish second in the Grade 1 Acorn three weeks ago.
Rachel’s Valentina and Lewis Bay have been freshened during the eight weeks since the Kentucky Oaks. They both stalked the Oaks pace and bid for the lead entering the stretch. Lewis Bay surged to a brief lead before being overtaken by eventual winner Cathryn Sophia. She finished third after being nailed for second in deep stretch.
Rachel’s Valentina flattened out to finish sixth, beaten 6 1/4 lengths. The Oaks is the first time she has finished worse than second. Trainer Todd Pletcher suspects that her prior race, a runner-up effort in the Ashland Stakes four weeks earlier, may have had a lingering effect.
“The Oaks was a little bit disappointing, to tell you the truth,” Pletcher said. “The Ashland may have been more difficult on her than we thought. That’s why we’ve given her a little extra time and passed the Acorn to wait for this. She’s doing well, and we’re looking forward to getting her going again.”
Lewis Bay won the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct in her start before the Oaks.
“She ran very well in the Oaks,” trainer Chad Brown said. “She’s a little filly, and by design we gave her a breather after the Oaks.”
Lewis Bay may have held second in the Oaks if she had not switched to her wrong lead and drifted during the final sixteenth.
“That’s just her,” Brown said. “She’s done it in a few of her races.”
Lightstream won a seven-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream in March, the Grade 3 Beaumont over the seven-furlong-and-184-foot Beard Course at Keeneland, and the $100,000 Soaring Softly, a seven-furlong turf stakes at Belmont in May. Trained by Brian Lynch, she has done her best running in the stretch each time, but the $300,000 Mother Goose is more than a furlong longer than the Beaumont.
“She’s very talented, and I’ll tell you, she’s training very nicely,” Lynch said. “This will be the ultimate test to see if she can get one and a sixteenth miles. I’ve got my fingers crossed, and I think she can do it.”
Mother Goose, Race 9
Key contenders
Rachel’s Valentina, by Bernardini
Last 3 Beyers: 86-92-90
◗ She has run well fresh throughout her career. She won her debut, finished second to Songbird in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies off an eight-week break, and was narrowly beaten in the Ashland in her first start at 3.
◗ A mile and a sixteenth around one turn seems ideal for her, and she has a bit more natural speed than her chief rivals.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Rachel's Valentina. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 83-28-15-7 with a $2.46 ROI over the past two years in graded stakes on dirt in the first start following a layoff of 45 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Lewis Bay, by Bernardini
Last 3 Beyers: 91-86-85
◗ She showed a quick burst of speed when she took the lead in the Kentucky Oaks and when she blew open the Gazelle Stakes in upper stretch.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Lewis Bay. Trainer Chad Brown is 40-1-4-6 with a $0.12 ROI over the past five years in dirt route Grade 1 stakes (and 36-0-4-6 in the past four years). Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Lightstream, by Harlan’s Holiday
Last 3 Beyers: 86-86-103
◗ She has shown flashes of brilliance in her limited outings but faces a big class test against tougher rivals here. She just may be up to the task.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Lightstream. Trainer Brian Lynch is 13-1-0-3 with a $0.83 ROI over the past five years with horses going a route of ground for the first time in a stakes race. – Mike Hogan
Off the Tracks, by Curlin
Last 3 Beyers: 96-83-81
◗ In addition to Rachel’s Valentina, Pletcher has entered Off the Tracks and Mo d’Amour.
◗ Off the Tracks waited for room nearing the stretch of the one-mile Acorn and then ran down Cathryn Sophia to finish second to Carina Mia.
“She bounced out of the Acorn pretty well, and we thought the mile and a sixteenth at this time would be better for her than waiting for the one and one-eighth miles of the Coaching Club American Oaks, where we might meet Songbird and Carina Mia,” Pletcher said.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Off the Tracks. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 72-13-9-8 with a $0.99 ROI over the past two years in graded stakes on dirt in the second start following a layoff of 45 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Mom’s On Strike, by First Dude
Last 3 Beyers: 81-81-65
◗ Trainer Joe Sharp adds blinkers to her equipment, and she comes into this off two bullet works.
◗ She ran a big race in the Black-Eyed Susan and was beaten only a half-length for second.
◗ Like Rachel’s Valentina and Lewis Bay, she gets a nice turnback in distance from a two-turn, 1 1/8-mile race to a one-turn, 1 1/16-mile race.