Promises Broken making stakes debut in Cincinnati Trophy

Although Saturday’s $50,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Turfway Park cannot be compared with a major race such as Saturday’s Grade 2 Forward Gal at Gulfstream, it seems well above average for a winter stakes race in Kentucky. Ten horses are entered, and several, led by Promises Broken, appear to have the potential to accomplish greater things away from Turfway Park this winter.

After winning her first out at Keeneland by 12 1/4 lengths in the slop and running third on a fast track in an allowance at Churchill Downs, Promises Broken demolished a first-level allowance field Jan. 18 on Turfway’s Polytrack, winning by 8 1/2 lengths. That race earned her a career-best 79 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest in the Cincinnati Trophy.

Only a relatively short turnaround of about 2 1/2 weeks would seem to put her at risk of regression, though trainer Phil Sims did not seem concerned, noting that she was rested for more than a month and a half preceding her last start.

A daughter of Algorithms owned and bred by Nelson McMakin and ridden by Jack Gilligan, Promises Broken gets her first stakes test Saturday.

The filly with the most stakes experience, having made three such starts, is Sister Nation, a maiden. Her better stakes efforts include a second last year in the Glorious Song at Woodbine over the synthetic Tapeta surface there and a fourth on dirt in the Old Hat at Gulfstream on Jan. 7, when she ran behind a trio of fillies – Wildcat Kate, Bode’s Dream, and Summer Luck – who are running in the Forward Gal.

She is sent north from Florida to contest the Cincinnati Trophy because “she ran so well on the synthetic last year at Woodbine,” trainer Michael De Paulo said.

Key Contenders

Promises Broken, by Algorithms
Last 3 Beyers: 79-65-75

◗ Sims and Gilligan have teamed up for a 15-4-7-2 record at Turfway in 2016-17, although all four winners were heavily favored.

Delphinia, by The Factor
Last 2 Beyers: 72-49

◗ After winning a five-furlong turf sprint at Gulfstream on Dec. 17, she moves to synthetic – an angle that has generated 43 percent winners for trainer Wesley Ward at Turfway Park over the last five years.

Sister Nation, by Into Mischief
Last 3 Beyers: 70-73-53

◗ Marks the first Turfway starter for De Paulo, who races predominantly in Florida during the winter and in Canada the rest of the year.