My Majestic Rose testing deeper waters in Summertime Oaks

ARCADIA, Calif. – For her stakes debut, the Kentucky-based filly My Majestic Rose has been sent to Santa Anita for next Sunday’s Grade 2 Summertime Oaks.

The assignment will be a significant test for My Majestic Rose, who won a maiden special weight race for fillies and mares at Churchill Downs on May 2, leaving trainer Rodolphe Brisset sufficiently impressed to plan for an interstate trip.

“We feel with the maturation that she has shown she looks competitive in that spot,” Brisset said.

The $200,000 Summertime Oaks, run for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, is expected to have a small field.

Other candidates include Flor de La Mar, who was second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on April 6 and 11th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 3; Sneaking Out, who was disqualified from first to second for causing interference in the Angels Flight Stakes at seven furlongs on May 4; and Colonial Creed, who won an allowance race with an $80,000 claiming option at 1 1/8 miles on turf on May 3.

Without a standout among the probable runners, Brisset thinks My Majestic Rose belongs.

My Majestic Rose, owned by breeder Judy Hicks, won a maiden race at a mile on a muddy and sealed track on May 2 in her fifth start despite a wide trip. Brisset, 35, said My Majestic Rose was slower to develop than expected.

“We always liked her,” Brisset said. “It took her a couple of races to figure out what we were asking her. The other day she won pretty nicely.

“She came with a big run. She was wide all the way around.”

My Majestic Rose will be the first starter at Santa Anita for Brisset whose stable was formed in early 2017. He was previously an assistant to trainer Bill Mott.

The Summertime Oaks is one of two Grade 2 races next Sunday, along with the $200,000 Monrovia Stakes for fillies and mares at five furlongs on turf. From Saturday through Monday’s Memorial Day program, there are eight graded stakes.

There are three Grade 1 races on Monday worth $500,000 each – the Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf, the Shoemaker Mile on turf, and the Gold Cup at Santa Anita at 1 1/4 miles on the main track.

The Gold Cup field is led by Gift Box, who won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on April 6, and Vino Rosso, who won the Grade 2 Wood Memorial in 2018 and was ninth behind Justify in the Kentucky Derby a month later.

The field will include Mongolian Groom, who was third in the Santa Anita Handicap at 53-1, finishing 3 3/4 lengths behind Gift Box. Mongolian Groom was subsequently fifth in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at 1 1/8 miles in West Virginia on April 20.

Owner and trainer Enebish Ganbat said the cross-country ship and two-week turnaround, may have taken a toll on Mongolian Groom.

“It was his first time on a plane,” Ganbat said.

The Gold Cup distance is a better fit for the 4-year-old gelding, Ganbat said.

“I was really happy with the third-place in a Grade 1,” he said.

Ganbat said on Sunday that he has not finalized a rider for Mongolian Groom, but said he will replace Geovanni Franco who has been aboard for the last four starts.