Noble Damsel comes back with change in cast
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There will be a third attempt to run the Grade 3, $150,000 Noble Damsel Stakes on Sunday at Aqueduct, and the field has undergone some renovations since it was originally scheduled two weeks ago.
Originally drawn for Sept. 23 with a field of nine, the Noble Damsel was postponed when that card was canceled due to rain. Rescheduled for Sept. 29 with basically the same cast, the one-mile turf race was again lost when historic rainfall hit Queens, forcing the New York Racing Association to cancel the Sept. 29 card and move the Sept. 30 card to the following day.
Sunday, the Noble Damsel has six for the turf, but only three of the original cast members. Trainer Chad Brown has kept Gerrymander and Fluffy Socks in the field, but has subtracted Gina Romantica and replaced her with Salimah.
Two other newcomers to the field include Panama Red and Sparkle Blue, the latter who looks to be a significant player as a three-time stakes winner and one who could benefit from some expected pace and give in the ground.
The two-week postponement of the Noble Damsel gives Sparkle Blue, a full sister to 2010 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Shared Account, four weeks since she last ran, when she finished second to loose-on-the-lead Regal Realm in the Grade 3, $1 million Ladies Turf at Kentucky Downs, which, like the Noble Damsel, was run at one mile.
“I thought she ran awesome,” trainer Graham Motion said of Sparkle Blue’s effort in the Ladies Turf. “She’s damn consistent. I worry about the mile, as the family wanted to go farther, but it’s a good opportunity and I think helps set us up for the rest of the year.”
Panama Red, who hasn’t been out since winning an allowance at Tampa in March, could supply some of the pace. Kendrick Carmouche rides.
Brown wants to run Gerrymander on the turf, though she would be a natural fit should the race be forced to the dirt.
Brown’s other two runners, Fluffy Socks and Salimah, are more proven turf runners. Fluffy Socks, coming off a runner-up finish to Evvie Jets in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa, cuts back to a mile, a distance at which she has won two graded stakes. Salimah won the Winter Memories over yielding Aqueduct ground last November.
Malavath has yet to find her group stakes-winning form from previous years, though trainer Christophe Clement, who has had her for two starts this year, noted that Malavath in each of her two racing seasons has performed better in the fall of the year.
Sunset Louise, Balpool, and Movie Moxy are entered to run only if the race is run on the dirt.
The Noble Damsel is scheduled for race 7 on a nine-race card that includes a trio of other graded stakes – the Grade 2 Beldame, the Grade 3 Futurity, and Grade 3 Matron.
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