Only for Now needs best behavior for stakes debut in Stormy Blues
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Early in their careers, some horses struggle to find the balance between their natural disposition and specialized talent. Only for Now is still working on it, so when the 3-year-old filly acted up in the gate and started slow in her debut at Aqueduct last month, trainer Miguel Clement wasn’t necessarily surprised. She always burns bright, for better or worse.
“She’s had ability from Day One, and she’s a bit of an alpha female,” Clement said. “Dominant and definitely opinionated.”
Yet, despite costing herself considerable early ground in a green debut, Only for Now proved undeniable. Her talent won out, and at the very end of the six-furlong turf sprint, she rallied hard from sixth to win by a neck, earning a 79 Beyer Speed Figure.
Spoiled with options for his precocious 3-year-old ahead of her second start, Clement has decided to take a measured risk and will ship her to Laurel Park for the $100,000 Stormy Blues Stakes on Sunday. She will make her stakes debut with plenty left to learn.
In a field of 12 3-year-old fillies that includes three main-track-only runners, Only for Now will break from the rail if the 5 1/2-furlong sprint remains on turf. For one with trepidations around the starting gate, this will present an obvious challenge.
“She’ll be in the gate for a while,” Clement said. “Just hope this time she’ll be a bit better behaved. The main reason why she joined our stables a bit late is because she’s opinionated in that sense.”
Only for Now is bred and owned by Robert S. Evans and came to Clement’s attention through a recommendation from the Florida-based consignor Niall Brennan.
Because the filly has not yet run a clean trip, Clement said it was difficult to assess her preferred running style. It is possible that she has more speed to offer.
“It’s very simple,” Clement said. “It depends if she’ll behave in the gates or not. I’m not completely sure. We’ve already brought her to the gates nine times since the last time she ran. She behaved, but she behaved well in the mornings ahead of her debut. With that filly, you have to expect the unexpected.”
In her lone turf start for Brittany Russell last year, Tap Into Grace won a first-level allowance before being forced back to the dirt over the winter. She has since finished in the money in two stakes, most recently the $100,000 Xtra Heat at Laurel in February.
“Hopefully, we have her tight enough, but I thought her grass race at Laurel when she won was a really good run,” Russell said.
Trainer Michael Trombetta entered two fillies in the Stormy Blues, including three-time juvenile stakes winner Just Philtored. The Maryland-bred has proven versatile between turf and dirt and made her 3-year-old debut on the grass last month, finishing fifth in the $150,000 Take The A Train at Aqueduct
“If I wait too long for a dirt race, it might impact the next move,” Trombetta said. “So we’ll go ahead and give her another run at Laurel. She certainly ran respectable against some very nice horses in New York.”
Trombetta also entered Hark Theangelssing, who will make her 3-year-old debut after winning 2 of 4 starts as a juvenile.
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