Regent's House, daughter of champion Ashado, returns in allowance
Three preliminary allowance races with $77,000 purses are sprinkled through the final Thursday program of the meet.
Seven fillies and mares go 6 1/2 furlongs in race 5, where Regent’s House and Smashing, impressive maiden winners at Aqueduct, come off fourth-place finishes when favored for their initial allowance attempts.
Regent’s House galloped in her debut for Kiaran McLaughlin, becoming the first winner out of Ashado, a dual Eclipse Award winner and 2014 Hall of Fame inductee. She was under consideration for the Grade 2 Gazelle on the strength of that performance, but opted for an allowance instead, and stumbled badly at the start before chasing on a speed-biased track April 11.
Smashing also had trouble at the start in her first try at this level for Jimmy Jerkens, when she broke through the gate as the 7-5 choice. She breaks from the outside post with leading apprentice Taylor Rice, who posted a three-bagger Sunday.
The race marks the United States debut of Dear Mama, an import from Argentina who has trained swiftly at Churchill Downs with Eddie Kenneally.
Mike Hushion takes two shots at race 8 with the uncoupled pair of Roman Approval and Scarly Charly going a flat mile out of the chute.
Roman Approval, the lone 3-year-old in the field, made his first start outside Puerto Rico early at this meet, and was a clear second behind stakes-bound Bay of Plenty.
Scarly Charly is the likely favorite after earning a new top Beyer Speed Figure of 96 for a respectable try in the Metropolitan Handicap.
Logical threats include Box Office, second in all three starts this year, and Sinistra, who comes off a game win against New York-breds.
Three-year-old fillies are scheduled to go a mile on the Widener turf in race 9, where Chad Brown’s uncoupled duo of Granny Mc’s Kitten and Pink Poppy may vie for favoritism with the Christophe Clement-trained Valseuse.
Granny Mc’s Kitten won the P.G. Johnson Stakes as a second-out maiden last summer, enabling Ken and Sarah Ramsey to set a modern-day record for victories at a Saratoga meet.
“We own the mare and the stallion, and it’s named after my sister … I couldn’t have planned it any better,” Ken Ramsey said.
Pink Poppy overcame a slow start to beat maidens opening weekend.
Valseuse has faced stakes repeaters in three starts since a debut win, including dual Grade 1 winner Room Service.
Any among Almurra, Bartiromo, Irish Score, Miss Frost, and Passing Pfast may factor in what appears a wide-open race.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 10 Almurra. Debut victory at Saratoga in August came back live, with 4 of the 6 runners breaking their maiden next start.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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