Sacred Wish's turf breezes make her dangerous in Winter Memories

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Sacred Wish, a Grade 1 stakes-placed runner on dirt, will try turf for the first time in Friday’s $135,000 Winter Memories Stakes at Aqueduct. While her pedigree doesn’t necessarily scream turf, there are some things to suggest she could be live at a price in this one-mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

First, Sacred Wish has had several solid works on the turf, starting with a five-furlong move in 59.66 seconds in July. Second, her sire, Not This Time, has produced a few runners who have turned their fortunes around with the switch from dirt to turf, including multiple stakes winners Up to the Mark and Cogburn.

“Johnny Velazquez worked her a couple of times on the grass and he thought she really liked it,” trainer George Weaver said, referring to the Hall of Fame jockey who will ride Sacred Wish on Friday. “Some of the Not This Times liked the grass, and we’ve liked what we’ve seen so far from her on the grass.”

Weaver admits that Sacred Wish has been a bit challenging to figure out. In her first start for Weaver, Sacred Wish finished second in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. She then was a no-show in the Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico.

After running a terrific second to Wet Paint in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, Sacred Wish finished last in the Grade 1 Alabama.

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“She was empty going to the half-mile pole,” Weaver said of the Alabama. “It wasn’t lack of fitness, it wasn’t that she didn’t fit with those horses, she decided for whatever reason not to run. I worked her back on the grass in nine days, Johnny worked her, and he came back shaking his head, ‘This filly worked too good not to have run any good.’ ”

The Winter Memories drew 14 runners for turf, plus two main-track-only entrants. The field is limited to 10 runners on turf.

This year on the New York Racing Association circuit, trainer Chad Brown has won four turf stakes restricted to 3-year-old fillies. Friday, he has four entered in the Winter Memories led by Liguria and Tax Implications, the one-two finishers in the Wild Applause Stakes at Belmont Park in July.

In their most recent starts, Liguria was fifth behind stablemate Surge Capacity in the Grade 3 Lake George on July 21, and Tax Implications was fourth behind stablemate Aspray in the Grade 2 Lake Placid on Aug. 19, both at Saratoga.

Brown also brings Lady Beth back to the races off a four-month layoff. She won her debut over Gulfstream’s synthetic surface in February, then finished third as the favorite in the Grade 3 Soaring Softly at Belmont in May. Brown’s fourth starter, Get Your Kicks, is four-deep on the also-eligible list and is unlikely to make it into the race.

Trainer Todd Pletcher sends out the pair of Soviet Excess and Junipermarshmallow, who finished third and last, respectively, in the Lake Placid.

Soviet Excess, last early on in the Lake Placid, showed some late interest, outfinishing Tax Implications by a neck for third.

“I thought she ran well, she was gaining at the end, she just couldn’t get there in time,” Pletcher said.

The Lake Placid was Junipermarshmallow’s first start in eight months and while she appeared to be training well going into it, and was sitting third early, she retreated just before the quarter pole.

“I think it’s a throw-out race,” Pletcher said.

Silver Skillet, winner of the Suzie O’Cain Stakes for New York-breds will attempt to transfer her form to open company for Christophe Clement.

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Bolivie, trained by Brendan Walsh, came off a four-month layoff to rally from last and win the Searching Stakes at Laurel Park last month.

Neecie Marie, a recent stakes winner at Parx Racing for Butch Reid and Sweetlou’sgotaces, who is now with Graham Motion but who won the Tepin Stakes here last fall when with Ray Handal, round out the field who made the body of the race.

Lifelovenlaughter, Plentitude, Stephanie’s Charm, and Get Your Kicks, in order, would need scratches from the body of the race to get into the field.

The Winter Memories goes as race 8 on a nine-race card that begins at 1:05 p.m.

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