Special Wan the one to beat in Goldikova
?q=100)
DEL MAR, Calif. – A second Grade 3 win of 2025 in the $1.31 million Ladies Turf Stakes at Kentucky Downs on Aug. 30 was not enough to assure Special Wan of a place in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 4. She was stuck on the also-eligible list.
Saturday’s Grade 3 Goldikova Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Del Mar is the consolation race.
“This was our backup plan,” trainer Brendan Walsh said.
Special Wan, who races for the Team Valor International partnership and Steven Rocco, has won 3 of 5 starts since arriving at Walsh’s stable in late summer of 2024 from Ireland, where she was Group 3 stakes-placed. A 5-year-old mare by Belardo, Special Wan is scheduled to be sold at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in Kentucky on Monday.
Special Wan has won 2 of 3 starts this year, beginning with the Grade 3 Honey Fox Stakes at a mile at Gulfstream Park in March. Her loss was a third in the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes at Saratoga in June.
Special Wan races as a stalker, and Walsh plans the same strategy in the $300,000 Goldikova on firm turf.
“I think we’ll sit right off the pace,” he said. “She’s got plenty of tactical speed and she’ll love the ground.”
Deep Satin, winner of a division of the restricted De La Rose Stakes at Saratoga in July, has a similar style. Trained by Cherie DeVaux, Deep Satin was second in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 8.
Deep Satin finished fourth by a half-length in the First Lady after starting from the outside of 11. She closed from seventh after a wide trip.
“She ran awesome,” DeVaux said. “She’s a filly that has always shown a lot of talent. She’s progressed along and moved forward through the year.”
The California-based runners in the Goldikova include three stakes winners at Santa Anita earlier this year: Public Assembly in the Grade 3 Royal Heroine Stakes in April; Liguria, who is winless in two starts since the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes in March; and Lady Claypoole, who won the Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes in March and was later second to Be Your Best in the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita in May.
Lady Claypoole finished last of five in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga in July in her last start.
The Goldikova distance should work for Medoro, who started twice at the Del Mar summer meeting, winning the restricted Osunitas Stakes at a mile on turf on July 20 and finishing second as the 3-5 favorite in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Sept. 6.
A return to a mile makes Medoro a contender on Saturday.
“Most riders tell me that a mile is her best thing, especially with her style,” trainer Peter Eurton said. “She is able to sit off the pace and have that kick.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.