Sweet as Pie ships in for weak Silverbulletday

The lone horse being shipped from Florida for the 3-year-old stakes races Saturday is Sweet as Pie, and she’ll stand a strong chance of winning a modest renewal of the $150,000 Silverbulletday for 3-year-old fillies.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Sweet as Pie is by the great sire Tapit and is the second foal to race from the mare Treasuring. She overcame post 1 to win her career debut sprinting last October at Belmont, and breaking from the rail again was an encouraging fourth in a solid renewal of the $150,000 Tempted there in November. Gerrymander won the Tempted coming off a second-place finish behind champion filly Echo Zulu in the Frizette. Nest, who was second in the Tempted, returned to win the Grade 2 Demoiselle, a race in which Tempted runner-up Magic Circle finished third.

Pletcher also trains Nest and has several horses in the division to separate this winter. Nest could go to the Suncoast at Tampa Bay Downs, he said, while his filly Greatitude is aimed toward the Forward Gal at Gulfstream.

Sweet as Pie, set to arrive in New Orleans early Thursday morning, worked five furlongs in company with Nest on Jan. 15 at Palm Beach Downs, both fillies clocking 1:01.78. Nest beat Sweet as Pie on the gallop-out while working along the fence, the better spot for team workouts at Palm Beach.

“She’s a little bit of an idle filly working on her own,” Pletcher said. “She’s doing what you hope to see a horse do this time of year – filling out and getting stronger.”

The top 3-year-old fillies stabled at Fair Grounds, Echo Zulu and Hidden Connection aren’t ready for the Silverbulletday, while North County, undefeated after three starts, hasn’t posted a workout since winning the Untapable Stakes on Dec. 26.

◗ A nine-race Thursday card has a first-level Louisiana-bred turf-route allowance, carded as race 5, as the feature. Cold temperatures will descend midweek over New Orleans and there’s a chance of rain in the forecast, so this race could wind up on dirt, but on turf, Deer Crossing, part of a Jeff Delhomme-trained entry, is the solid selection.

◗ James Graham on Monday missed his fifth straight day of mounts at Fair Grounds. Graham’s agent, Frank Bernis, said on Jan. 13 that Graham wasn’t feeling well, and reported via text message Monday that Graham expected to resume riding Thursday.