At two turns, Trippi's Sailor a wild card

MIAMI − Trippi's Sailor is perfect in three starts on grass. Each of those victories came at five furlongs, however, and even her trainer, Steve DiMauro, said he isn't sure what to expect when he stretches Trippi's Sailor out to 1 1/16 miles for the first time in Sunday's $55,000 Noble Robyn overnight stakes at Calder.

"To be honest, I don't know if she can go two turns or not," DiMauro said Friday morning on his way to join his second division at Monmouth Park. "I'm not saying she can't, but it looks like she's very efficient at five furlongs on the turf, and I'm not sure if that will translate to two turns. But my owner doesn't like to ship his horses. I didn't have any other options for her here, so I thought I'd take a shot in the stakes and find out if she'll go further."

Trippi's Sailor rallied after a slow start to win a $35,000 claiming race March 24, when she made her turf debut at Gulfstream Park. She used similar tactics to capture her entry-level and second-level allowance conditions over the grass course here earlier in the session.

"I'm not sure how much speed is in this race − I haven't really gotten a look at the past performances yet − but coming off sprints, I imagine she'll be a little closer than in her other grass races and probably stalking the pace from the start," DiMauro said.

The Noble Robyn field also includes the first-, second-, third-, and fifth-place finishers from the Strikethedancer overnight stakes at a mile here June 6. Musical Romance slipped through along the rail to run down Regina Twain and post a half-length decision in the Strikethedancer, with Trip for A.J. finishing another length back in third after forcing the pace and edging clear in early stretch.

Musical Romance has continued to flourish since trainer Bill Kaplan switched her to the grass late at 2. A daughter of Concorde's Tune, she has won two of her five starts on turf and was beaten 1 1/4 lengths in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride this winter at Gulfstream. Manoel Cruz will ride Musical Romance, who will carry high weight of 122 pounds under the allowance conditions of the Noble Robyn.

The Noble Robyn also marks the third consecutive turf start for Joanie's Catch, who finished eighth in the Strikethedancer. Despite placing against graded company this winter, Joanie's Catch seeks her first win at 3.

The multiple-stakes-placed Miss Aristocrat is scheduled to make her turf debut in the Noble Robyn after failing as the 6-5 favorite here last month against older horses under optional claiming conditions.

How's Your Halo works for Ponche

How's Your Halo sizzled in a five-furlong gate workout Friday, getting the distance in 1:00.78 over a wet and slow racetrack. How's Your Halo returned from a long layoff to finish fourth and last in defense of his title in the Ponche Handicap earlier this month.

The Ponche is probably a prep for How's Your Halo's next start in the Grade 2 Smile on the July 10 Summit of Speed program. How's Your Halo finished second behind Benny the Bull in the 2008 Smile and fourth in the 2009 Smile.