Trust Me enters Azalea off eye-catching comeback win
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Trust Me has a running line that pops off the page heading into the $75,000 Azalea on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
She defeated older rivals in a first-level allowance by more than seven lengths last month. The race was her first since August and the Beyer Speed Figure of 89 she earned is the best career number in the seven-furlong Azalea.
“We like her,” said Alex Lieblong, who bred and races Trust Me with his wife, JoAnn. “That was her first one back. She ought to be better than last time – and she was pretty good in that last race.”
Alex Lieblong knows a move forward will be essential for Trust Me, who is part of a competitive field of eight 3-year-old fillies. Other top contenders include Flakes and Charlie’s Wish, who finished one-two last out in the $100,000 Game Face at Gulfstream.
Trust Me dominated Florida-breds for trainer David Fawkes on June 16 at Gulfstream, covering six furlongs in a quick 1:10.04. She’s since been flattered, with third-place finisher Mama Maria coming back to win at the same level one start later, earning a Beyer of 71.
Trust Me is moving into an open-company stakes for the first time. Last August, she finished third in Gulfstream’s Desert Vixen – part of the Florida Sire Stakes program. The daughter of The Big Beast and the Bodemeister mare Trust also will be racing beyond six furlongs for the first time Saturday.
“Seven-eighths should be in her range,” Alex Lieblong said. “I don’t know how much past that she’ll go. That’s kind of like The Big Beast. The biggest worry I had [with him] in the King’s Bishop was the seven furlongs, but he was able to handle it. The mare is by Bodemeister, and she ought to get some distance out of the mare side, too.”
Lieblong knows the pedigree angle quite well. In addition to owning The Big Beast, Trust Me’s dam is from the female family of Grade 1 Ashland winner Well Chosen, who became the dam of the Lieblong’s multiple Grade 1-winning turf route specialist Telling.
“It’s Telling’s old line,” Lieblong said. “She’s part of the family.”
Miguel Vasquez has the mount on Trust Me from post 4. He was aboard last out, when the filly broke on top and raced with the pace. One start prior, Trust Me rallied from off the pace in last August’s Desert Vixen.
Flakes will start from post 5 under regular rider Edgard Zayas. She stalked and went on to a neck win over Charlie’s Wish in the Game Face, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint that was run in the mud June 17. Earlier in her career, the daughter of Frosted was third in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. Juan Alvarado trains for BC Racing LLC.
Charlie’s Wish was favored in the Game Face and came running late after cutting back from two turns. Earlier in her career, she was stakes-placed at seven furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs. Fawkes trains the daughter of First Dude for Royalight Racing.
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