Stonetastic should benefit from cutback in Sugar Swirl
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Kelly Breen will try to give his Grade 2-winning filly Stonetastic a confidence boost going into the 2016 campaign when she takes on six rivals in Saturday’s $100,000 Sugar Swirl, one of three Grade 3 stakes on an 11-race program that kicks off the final week of the 2015 season.
On her best day, Stonetastic has shown that she is as fast as any filly around, her eye-catching 8 1/2-length victory going six furlongs in the 2014 Prioress at Saratoga a perfect case in point. Stonetastic, a daughter of Mizzen Mast, earned a 108 Beyer Speed Figure in the Grade 2 Prioress, a number she eclipsed this summer when cruising to a 15 3/4-length optional-claiming win at Parx.
Stonetastic has competed in each of the last two editions of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, finishing fourth a year ago at Santa Anita and eighth this fall at Keeneland. Both of those races were at seven furlongs. She’ll turn back to six furlongs for the Sugar Swirl.
“She came out of the Breeders’ Cup good and fresh, and that’s why we’re running,” said Breen, who trains Stonetastic for Stoneway Farm. “We also want to try to get her another ‘W’ looking ahead to next season. Turning back from seven furlongs to six should be good for her; it’s certainly well within her wheelhouse. She rated well in the Breeders’ Cup, sitting right off them; she just didn’t have the big kick we were hoping for. But that was the Breeders’ Cup, the best of the best.”
Best Behavior wheels back two weeks after a second-place finish behind stablemate Cali Star going a mile in the Grade 3 Rampart. The outing was the first in nearly five months for the versatile stakes winner, who has been effective at distances ranging from six furlongs to a mile.
Dogwood Trail will try to get back on the winning track after tasting defeat as the odds-on favorite in each of her last two starts. Dogwood Trail is already a Grade 3 winner, having captured the Azalea in front-running fashion here last summer.
Naval Command, Sky Gold, You Bought Her, and Miss Melinda complete the field.
KEY CONTENDERS
Stonetastic (Last 3 Beyers: 84-109-95)
◗ She’ll compete at six furlongs for the first time since finishing third in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes in October 2014.
◗ Her only local start came on turf in her 3-year-old debut when finishing third going two turns in the Ginger Brew Stakes.
Best Behavior (Last 3 Beyers: 83-86-87)
◗ Trainer Marty Wolfson said the Sugar Swirl was the originally targeted comeback spot for Best Behavior after the long layoff, not the Rampart.
“I planned on this race first; I hadn’t planned on running a mile,” said Wolfson. “She ran her heart out [in the Rampart], but she’s better going short.”
Dogwood Trail (Last 3 Beyers: 76-73-76)
◗ She hasn’t run six furlongs since finishing second behind Taylor S in the Any Limit Stakes here March 14 and will meet older horses for the first time in the Sugar Swirl.