Rugelach in nice spot to get first win for Wilensky
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OLDSMAR, Fla. – Rugelach has run too good to lose in her first two starts for trainer and part-owner Sam Wilensky, but the 6-year-old mare finished second in both races.
On Wednesday, Rugelach looks well spotted to earn her first victory for Wilensky – and first since Sept. 24 – in a second-level allowance scheduled for one mile on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs. Turf racing should resume Wednesday after rain forced the last race on Saturday’s card and all of Sunday’s scheduled turf races to the dirt.
Wilensky was at Del Mar when Rugelach finished second in an optional-claiming race. He put in a claim for $50,000 but the claim was voided. The owners of Rugelach reached out to Wilensky to see if he might want to take over the training of the mare since she is a Florida-bred and Wilensky is based at Gulfstream Park. Wilensky ultimately became part-owner of the mare.
Rugelach ran in this same condition on Nov. 19, and though the typically front-running mare didn’t make the lead that day, she rallied to the front in midstretch only to be run down by Silver Moonlight.
Silver Moonlight, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., came back to win another allowance and then ran third, beaten one length, in the Grade 3 Honey Fox Stakes. The sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-place finishers from the Nov. 19 race also came back to win their next starts.
Meanwhile, Rugelach came back in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf on Jan. 10, set the pace, and just got run down by Super Zonda. She finished three lengths clear of Ashima, who has come back to win her next two starts.
“It’s pretty unfortunate with both performances not to have at least one win,” Wilensky said. “The first one, she was coming off a little bit of a layoff and got beat by a good filly. Last time out, we went a little quick on the front end and we lost a stakes because of it.”
Though Rugelach did demonstrate the ability to come from off the pace in the November race, Wilensky expects her to be on or close to the lead Wednesday under Samuel Marin, Tampa’s leading rider.
“I don’t know who else might go with her,” Wilensky said. “I’d expect her to be one-two the whole way around.”
Wilensky said this race was originally scheduled for last week, and was designed as a prep for the $110,000 Distaff Turf, a 1 1/16-mile turf race restricted to Florida-breds on March 29. Wilensky said depending how Rugelach runs Wednesday and comes out of the race, he hopes to still be able to make the Distaff Turf.
The main threat to Rugelach on Wednesday is the Chad Brown-trained Accent, who is 2 for 2 in her career, with both wins coming at Tampa, albeit 11 months apart. Accent, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Program Trading, won both races by a neck with a solid late run.
“She’s got a good turn of foot,” Brown said. “She’s marching her way to a stakes start. One more allowance and then we’ll go for a stakes if she runs well.”
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