Stablemates Zindaya, Marbre Rose hook up again
ELMONT, N.Y. – Zindaya and Marbre Rose gave trainer Christophe Clement a one-two finish in last month’s $150,000 Intercontinental Stakes going seven furlongs at Belmont Park. Those two could give Clement another one-two finish in Friday’s $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes, a one-mile race at Belmont, though the order could very well be reversed.
Marbre Rose could be better suited to the mile than Zindaya, whose four victories have come at seven furlongs or shorter. In her lone try at a mile, Zindaya finished third in the Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.
“She was a little bit aggressive, went a little bit quick,” Clement said about Zindaya’s effort in the Autumn Miss.
In the Intercontinental, Zindaya actually sat off another horse for about five furlongs before taking command in upper stretch. She beat Marbre Rose by 2 1/4 lengths and galloped out very well.
Marbre Rose, meanwhile, raced between horses for much of the Intercontinental and appeared hesitant to split horses in the stretch, although she ultimately did.
Both horses drop significant weight from the Intercontinental. Zindaya carries only 115 pounds, eight fewer than she did in the Intercontinental, while Marbre Rose drops five pounds from that race.
Invading Humor, who came off a six-month layoff to win the Mt. Vernon Stakes for New York-breds, is the co-highweight at 123 pounds along with Daring Kathy, a Grade 3 winner last November who makes her seasonal debut and her first start for trainer Chad Brown.
The Perfect Sting goes as race 8 on a nine-race card that begins at 3 p.m. Eastern. It is the last of three “Party at the Park” programs this summer. This one features a post-race concert by a Bruce Springsteen cover group called the B Street Band.
KEY CONTENDERS
Marbre Rose (Last 3 Beyers: 90-91-91)
◗ She has two wins and a second in four U.S. starts. In her other race, she finished sixth in the Grade 2 Honey Fox at Gulfstream behind Lady Lara, Sandiva, and Coffee Clique, all graded stakes winners.
“She ran very well,” Clement said. “She actually got beat by some very good fillies.”
◗ She had traffic problems in the Intercontinental when second to Zindaya, but even Clement acknowledged, “I’m not sure it cost her the race.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Marbre Rose. Trainer Christophe Clement is 22-4-3-5 with a $0.90 ROI over the past five years going sprint to route in the second start following a layoff. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Zindaya (Last 3 Beyers 95-94-75)
◗ Distance and the presence of other speed types such as Daring Kathy and Miss Frost could be the primary concerns for this filly, who has won two straight and is 3 for 3 at Belmont Park.
◗ Clement said the one-turn-mile configuration of this race makes it “the right track to try” her at the distance.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Zindaya. Trainer Christophe Clement is 13-5-1-2 with a $2.83 ROI over the past five years on the NYRA circuit going sprint to route on turf with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Invading Humor (Last 3 Beyers: 88-65-75)
◗ Multiple New York-bred stakes-winning mare is 3 for 3 at a mile, including a solid score in the Mt. Vernon Stakes off a six-month layoff. Trainer Bruce Levine believes “there’s room to go forward” off that last race.
◗ Levine said Invading Humor had a solid five-furlong work over the Aqueduct turf June 25 in company with her sister Distorted Beauty, who is running in Saturday’s James Penny Memorial at Parx.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Daring Kathy. Trainer Chad Brown is 20-4-2-4 with a $0.92 ROI over the past two years in turf routes in the first start following a trainer switch and a layoff of 180 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan