Somali Lemonade will tackle Beverly D. next

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Somali Lemonade, an 11-1 upset winner of the Grade 1 Diana Stakes on July 19 at Saratoga, will make her next start in the Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes here on Aug. 16, trainer Michael Matz said Tuesday.

“I think we’re going to give it a whirl,” said Matz, who had been monitoring Somali Lemonade’s condition coming out of the Diana before committing her to the Beverly D.

Somali Lemonade worked a half-mile in 48.60 seconds on Aug. 2 at Matz’s Fair Hill Training Center base. “We had a little maintenance work last weekend,” he said. “She acted real good with that, came out of it good.”

Matz said Somali Lemonade will travel by van from Fair Hill to Saratoga on Wednesday. From there, she will travel with the other East Coast shippers to Arlington Million Day races on an Aug. 12 flight to Chicago.

Somali Lemonade, a 5-year-old, won her first Grade 1 in the Diana. She has three wins, a second, and a third since Matz began racing her in blinkers five starts ago. Luis Saez, Somali Lemonade’s jockey her last six starts, will ride her in the Beverly D., and Saez will be making his first appearance at Arlington.

Three other likely Beverly D. starters also exit the Diana: second-place Stephanie’s Kitten, eighth-place Alterite, and ninth-place Emollient.

Pre-entries for the Beverly D., the Million, the Secretariat, and the American St. Leger are due by midnight Central this Friday.