Princess Grace likely to run in Goldikova and Matriarch
Princess Grace, unbeaten in three graded stakes this year, is returning to California for a start on the first weekend of November at Del Mar, with the Grade 2 Goldikova Stakes on Nov. 6 a likely goal.
Trainer Mike Stidham said on Friday that Princess Grace is under minor consideration for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 6, if the race loses a few leading contenders.
“It would take hearing that a couple of the ones that we consider the really tough horses are not running,” he said.
The $300,000 Goldikova Stakes is run at a mile on turf for fillies and mares. Stidham considers the Goldikova to be a prep for the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Nov. 28 for Princess Grace.
Stidham said the $400,000 Matriarch Stakes is the “main goal” for Princess Grace this fall.
Princess Grace, a 4-year-old filly by Karakontie, races for John and Susan Moore and has been well-traveled this year from Stidham’s Maryland base. Princess Grace won the Grade 3 Penny Memorial Stakes at Parx Racing in July, the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar on Aug. 7, and the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf at a mile on Sept. 11.
Princess Grace was scratched from the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at a mile on turf at Keeneland on Oct. 9, which was run on a good course.
“More than anything, we were not happy with the track condition,” Stidham said. “It had rained and we felt it was going to be the toughest race she’d ever run in and we didn’t want to do that on a track that she couldn’t handle.
“We had the races in California to fall back on.”
Princess Grace, 4, has won 6 of 7 starts and earned $886,860. Her lone loss was a second by a half-length in the Grade 3 Valley View Stakes at Keeneland in October 2020.