Strike Charmer using Athenia as stepping-stone

ELMONT, N.Y. – Strike Charmer didn’t run as well as she needed to in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl to convince her connections to move on to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf next month at Santa Anita.

However, trainer Mark Hennig does have designs on a trip to Southern California later in the year for Strike Charmer and is using Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia Stakes at Belmont Park as a prep for the Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar on Dec. 3.

In the Athenia, Strike Charmer will be cutting back from 1 1/4 miles to 1 1/16 miles, the distance at which she defeated Lady Eli in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga on Aug. 27. In the Flower Bowl, Strike Charmer finished fourth, beaten 3 1/4 lengths by winner Lady Eli, in a paceless affair.

“I thought she ran a credible race,” said Hennig, who trains Strike Charmer for Donald Adam’s Courtlandt Farm. “She didn’t get any pace, and she probably needs pace. We felt like if we got a proper setup, she could probably go a mile and a quarter, but she hadn’t proved it to us.”

Hennig said the Matriarch, a one-mile race, is a chance to get Strike Charmer placed in a Grade 1 stakes as she nears the end of her 6-year-old season and possible retirement. The six weeks from the Athenia is good timing, he said.

Strike Charmer won the Grade 3 Beaugay going 1 1/16 miles over this course in May, again benefiting from a swift pace. It remains to be seen if she gets that same pace Sunday when she breaks from the rail under Junior Alvarado as the 123-pound highweight. She is giving three to 10 pounds to the rest of the field.

While Chad Brown is pointing Lady Eli to the Breeders’ Cup, he has two promising fillies in the Athenia, Roca Rojo and Mexican Gold.

The pace in the race could be provided by All in Fun and Means Well.

The Athenia, which tops a nine-race card that includes the $100,000 English Channel for 3-year-olds, drew a field of 10 for the turf, plus one for the main track only.

KEY CONTENDERS

Roca Rojo, by Strategic Prince

Last 3 Beyers: 92-94-92

◗ She is 4 for 4 in one-turn races, including two wins at Belmont.

◗ Her only loss in five career starts came when she finished fourth in the De La Rose, a two-turn mile at Saratoga.

◗ She was merely hand-ridden to victory by John Velazquez in an allowance here Sept. 15.

◗ Javier Castellano replaces Velazquez, who has a commitment to ride Sea Coast for Christophe Clement.

Mexican Gold, by Medaglia d’Oro

Beyer: 91

◗ Came off an 11-month layoff to win a second-level allowance by a half-length at Saratoga, rallying four wide and outfinishing stablemate Off Limits, who had gotten through on the rail. Has come back with some solid works on the turf.

◗ Won a Group 3 and placed in a Group 1 in France as a 3-year-old last year.

Strike Charmer, by Smart Strike

Last 3 Beyers: 96-102-98

◗ After rain Friday and Saturday, she should get a bit of give in the ground, which she likes.