Roar Emotion tries again

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Roar Emotion raised some eyebrows when she won her maiden by 10 1/2 lengths in September at Belmont. A month later, she sunk some hearts and shrunk some wallets when beaten at 1-10 in allowance company.

Saturday, Roar Emotion will have a shot at redemption when she runs back in the Grade 2, $200,000 Demoiselle Stakes for juvenile fillies at Aqueduct. Jose Martin, the trainer of Roar Emotion, has enjoyed success in the Demoiselle. Martin won the race in 1984 with Diplomette and in 1987 with Goodbye Halo, a 37-1 shot who upset 3-5 favorite Tap Your Toes.

Following Roar Emotion's maiden win, Joe Allen purchased her privately and kept her with Martin. Martin believes Roar Emotion had a legitimate excuse in her allowance loss. According to Martin, Roar Emotion displaced her soft palate. She has been training in a tongue-tie and a figure-eight bridle ever since, and will run in that equipment on Saturday. Roar Emotion will break from the rail under John Velazquez.

"The best horse doesn't always win,'' Martin said. "Whoever is going to get the distance is going to win. We've been training her to go that far. If she doesn't want to go that far, she won't go that far.''

Fircroft is the only member of the Demoiselle to have successfully gone nine furlongs. Fircroft won the off-the-turf Miss Grillo Stakes here on Oct. 27. Though Fircroft does her best running from well behind the pace, trainer Rusty Arnold believes his filly is not dependent on pace.

"I would prefer some pace, but she isn't a plodder,'' said Arnold, who won this race in 1989 with Rootentootenwooten. "If they walk, she's going to be right there. In the Miss Grillo, we tracked a pretty slow pace that day. She can adapt.''

Summer Scene was formerly in Arnold's barn, but was privately sold following her maiden win at Churchill Downs to Bobby Frankel and owner Edmund Gann. Though Summer Scene must stretch out from a win at 6 1/2 furlongs, Arnold said he believes she is well suited to get the distance.

Frankel, who only saw the filly for the first time on Wednesday, said his only concern is that Summer Scene walked for a week and missed some training while the sale was pending.

Xtra Heart, a daughter of Favorite Trick, defeated Roar Emotion in the aforementioned allowance race.

She came back in the Tempted Stakes and finished fifth, beaten 4 1/2 lengths after being bumped at the break.

Lets Just Do It, who finished second in the sloppy Selima Stakes at Laurel Park when wide on both turns, ships in for trainer James Casey.