Mott mulls options with Carina Mia, Celestine

ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Bill Mott and his owners will have some decisions to make regarding the two horses he saddled to Grade 1 victories Saturday at Belmont Park.

Carina Mia won the Grade 1, $700,000 Acorn by 1 1/4 lengths, in the process upsetting Kentucky Oaks winner Cathryn Sophia, who finished third. Off the Tracks was second.

The victory was the first Grade 1 success for Carina Mia and her fourth overall victory from six starts. She ran a mile in 1:34.97 and earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance.

Now, Mott and Goncalo Borges Torrealba of Three Chimneys Farm will have to decide whether to stretch Carina Mia out in distance or cut her back. If they decide to go longer, there is the Coaching Club American Oaks at 1 1/8 miles on July 24 at Saratoga. The CCA Oaks leads to the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama at 1 1/4 miles on Aug. 20.

If the decision is made to keep Carina Mia around one turn, there is the Grade 1 Test going seven furlongs on Aug. 6 at Saratoga.

“The way she ran yesterday you’d have to say there’s a good chance she’d get nine furlongs,” Mott said Sunday morning. “Does she get 10? Well, that’s another question?”

The Coaching Club and/or the Alabama could be summer targets for the undefeated champion Songbird, who is expected to get back to the races next Saturday at Santa Anita. Asked if Songbird’s potential presence in Saratoga could impact any decisions made regarding Carina Mia, Mott said, “I don’t think so.”

Mott said Torrealba “doesn’t back [down]. I’m sure it’s not a case where he’s disrespecting Songbird. He’s competitive. I’m sure he wants to see how good his filly is.”

Trainer John Servis reported Sunday that Cathryn Sophia came out of her disappointing effort in good order. She shipped back to Monmouth Park on Sunday morning and will get a freshening before shipping next month to Saratoga. The Test is a possible next start for her with the $1 million Cotillion at Parx on Sept. 24 as a race Servis said he would like to make with Cathryn Sophia.

Meanwhile, Mott will have a similar distance decision to make regarding Celestine, who galloped to a powerful 3 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Just a Game. She ran a mile in a posted time of 1:31.64 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 107.

“She was never quite that good last year,” Mott said. “She was good, but she’s gotten better.”

Mott said he would talk to owners Donald and Donna Adam of Courtlandt Farms to decide whether to stretch Celestine out in distance in a race like the Grade 1 Diana at 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga on July 23 or find something shorter. Mott has won the Diana four times.

“I’m sure that conversation is going to be at the top of the list when I talk to the owners,” Mott said. “If you want to keep her at a mile or under it’s going to be hard to find spots.”