Sapphire Kitten looks to close juvenile season with stakes win
Breeders’ Cup graduate Sapphire Kitten is a filly on a mission Saturday in the $75,000 Wait a While Stakes at Gulfstream Park West.
“We’re trying to get a stakes win with her before the end of the year,” said Joe Sharp, who trains Sapphire Kitten for Ken and Sarah Ramsey.
The Wait a While is one of six stakes on an 11-race program dedicated to 2-year-olds. Run at a mile on turf, the Wait a While is restricted to fillies, as are the $75,000 Hut Hut at a mile on the main track and the $75,000 House Party at six furlongs on the main track.
Sapphire Kitten is part of an overflow field of 15. Among those rivals is Pancake, owned by Arindel Farm, which raced champion Wait a While. Sapphire Kitten invades from Kentucky, where she finished a close fourth Oct. 30 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
“The filly has done well since the Breeders’ Cup,” said Sharp. “We thought, ‘She’s going to be in Florida for the winter. This is a chance to get her some more black type, to try to make her a stakes winner by the end of her 2-year-old campaign.’ ”
Wait a While (Race 7)
Key contenders
Sapphire Kitten (Last 3 Beyers: 82-77-66)
* She punched her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup when she finished second by a neck Oct. 7 in the Grade 3 Jessamine at Keeneland. In the Breeders’ Cup, she raced prominently and was beaten 1 1/4 lengths over yielding ground at Keeneland.
“I thought she ran fantastic,” said Sharp. “Turning for home, it looked like she was going to win it. In hindsight, the ground was soft that day. Maybe she wasn’t wild about the give in the ground.”
* The 82 Beyer Speed Figure she earned in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf is the best career number in the Wait a While.
* Sapphire Kitten will break from post 13 in a field that will be limited to 14. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount. .
Pancake (Last 2 Beyers: 68-60)
* Undefeated in two starts, both of her races have come at a mile on turf, including the $100,000 Juvenile Filly Turf on Nov. 7 at Gulfstream West.
* Jose Caraballo has the mount for trainer Ronny Werner.
Most Inspiring (Last 2 Beyers: 71-70)
* She was fourth last out in the Grade 2 Natalma at Woodbine. The winner, Catch a Glimpse, returned to capture the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the runner-up, Gamble’s Ghost, won the Grade 3 Mazarine at Woodbine.
House Party (Race 2)
Key contenders
Ballet Diva (Last 3 Beyers: 49-57-49)
* She cuts back to one turn, and the last time she sprinted, she won the $300,000 Susan’s Girl division of the Florida Sire Stakes on Sept. 5 at Gulfstream. She also was a sprint-stakes winner in July in the $93,000 Cassidy at Gulfstream.
* Trainer Stanley Gold has sharpened Ballet Diva for the cutback from 1 1/16 miles with a bullet five-eighths work in 59.60 seconds Nov. 16 at Gulfstream.
She will break from post 7 in the field of seven under Caraballo.
Brandy’s Girl (Last 3 Beyers: 66-80-48)
* She seeks her third straight win following a 12 1/4-length maiden special weight score at Monmouth and a 4 3/4-length romp in the $100,000 Juvenile Filly Sprint here Nov. 7.
* Brandy’s Girl is the one to catch from the rail under Paco Lopez.
Hut Hut (race 10)
Key contenders
Bella Flor (Last 3 Beyers: 68-70-61)
* She is back racing with fillies after facing males in the Fitz Dixon Jr. Memorial Juvenile Stakes on Oct. 6 at Presque Isle. She finished third, beaten three-quarters of a length by Balk.
* Bella Flor, moving back to dirt after racing on a synthetic surface, will break from the rail in the field of 12.
Andreya’s Reward (Last 3 Beyers: 52-70-60)
* She makes her main-track debut after a bullet three-eighths work in 34.40 seconds Nov. 24 at Gulfstream.
* Andreya’s Reward was unplaced in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf last out at Keeneland, but before that race, she won the Our Dear Peggy Stakes on Oct. 3 at Gulfstream.
Silent Prayer (Last 3 Beyers: 55-56-56)
* She’s looking for her first stakes win after running second or third in five stakes starts.
* Silent Prayer will add blinkers and is moving back to two turns Saturday.
* She is a half-sister to Sing Praises, a three-time stakes winner at 2.