Ticket to Seattle starting over

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Ticket to Seattle, who impressed her connections enough to warrant the opportunity to run against Grade 1 competition at 2, will open her 3-year-old campaign against more suitable allowance opposition in Wednesday's $48,000 main event at Gulfstream Park.

Ticket to Seattle, a speedy daughter of Capote, led throughout to win her first two career starts at Delaware Park by an average margin of 2 1/2 lengths. Trainer Steve Klesaris, who owns a share of Ticket to Seattle in partnership with Puglisi Stables, sent his filly to the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park off those two impressive victories, and just about anything that could go wrong did.

"She was unruly pre-loading into the gate, got away poorly, then came out of the race with a temperature," said Klesaris.

Ticket to Seattle recuperated well enough to finish a game second over a wet track in an overnight stakes at Delaware before shipping to south Florida for the winter.

"I gave her a little freshening when we got down here, but she's training well and is tight enough to win, although probably not cranked up for her 'A' performance," said Klesaris. "I don't think she's necessarily one-dimensional, she's just been too quick for what she's been in against so far, and I'm really happy she drew the outside post for her first start back because it gives the rider more options to evaluate things from out there."

Edgar Prado will be aboard Ticket to Seattle for the first time on Wednesday.

Ticket to Seattle's early competition figures to come from Changeisgonnacome, who will race in blinkers for the first time after failing to show her best speed going six furlongs on Jan. 20. A daughter of Cherokee Run, she launched her career winning two of her first three starts, including Saratoga's restricted P.G. Johnson Stakes, and was also stakes-placed on the turf at 2.

If a speed duel develops, Debbie Got Even should be the major beneficiary. A nicely bred daughter of Stephen Got Even, she is coming off a fourth-place finish behind her stakes-winning stablemate Autobahn Girl going a mile in her 3-year-old debut and is also a winner at the seven-furlong distance of Wednesday's main event.

The multiple stakes-placed Bianco should also benefit from a fast pace, having rallied to a 1 1/4-length allowance win going 6 1/2 furlongs in her 2-year-old finale.

The Real Future returns to the main track and steps up in class after posting a pair of game wire-to-wire wins going a mile on grass.