Plans made for Quatrocento, Aussie Girl

Quatrocento, coming off a dominant, front-running victory in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes, may run in the Grade 3, $150,000 Canadian Turf at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 28, trainer Fausto Gutierrez said Monday.

Quatrocento, off three disappointing efforts at the graded stakes level, led at every call under Julien Leparoux and won the Tampa Bay by 3 3/4 lengths. His final time of 1:41.51 was more than a second faster than the mare Aussie Girl’s time for winning the Grade 3 Endeavour about an hour later. Quatrocento earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

“When he has a chance to relax, he’s a very strong horse,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said he is really looking forward to getting Quatrocento back to Kentucky Downs this year. Last summer, Quatrocento won two allowance races in 11 days, and now he will likely get a lucrative stakes opportunity at that track.

:: Celebrating 100 Years of racing at Tampa Bay Downs! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now.

Meanwhile, Aussie Girl, the 2 1/2-length winner of the Endeavour for trainer Will Walden, will likely be pointed to the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland on April 14.

“She’s 1 for 1 at Keeneland. While you’re likely to catch a really solid field, you’re likely to catch horses coming off layoffs,” Walden said. “It’s not set in stone, but we’re looking that way.”

Aussie Girl has a tremendous stride, and when the rider can get her to harness her speed, she can be dangerous on the lead.

“She’s like a machine. He couldn’t pull her up,” Walden said, referring to jockey Ben Curtis. “Once you turn it on, there’s no turning it off. She has no interest in anything except doing her job.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.