Spendarella pointing to Del Mar Oaks

Leading 3-year-old turf filly Spendarella has recovered from her trip to Royal Ascot, worked sharply on July 25 at Fair Hill, and is being pointed to the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on August 20, trainer Graham Motion said Friday.

A Karakontie filly bred and owned by Gainesway Farm, Karakontie won her debut on Feb. 2, a Gulfstream Park turf-route maiden race, and came back about a month later to comfortably capture the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride. She followed that up with a victory in the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland that was sharp enough for her connections to try the Grade 1 Coronation Stakes on June 17 at the Royal Ascot meeting. Spendarella was no match for the top-class filly Inspiral but beat the other 10 horses in the Coronation finishing second.

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Motion said the hot weather in England, the long ship and the strong performance took the starch out of Spendarella, but the filly was always going to get an early summer break and has come back to herself. Motion said he planned to work Spendarella a half-mile but that she galloped out so well that her July 25 breeze was recorded as five furlongs in 1:01.40.

“She looked fabulous,” Motion said. “She’s actually grown since the spring.”

Motion said the Del Mar Oaks will help find out if Spendarella can handle 1 1/8 miles.

“I think she might turn out to be more a miler, but I think she can do it,” he said.

If Spendarella runs to expectations at Del Mar, she’ll be aimed at the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup in October at Keeneland.