Unique Bella might face wet track in Apple Blossom

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The two graded stakes on the second day of the Racing Festival of the South at Oaklawn Park on Friday have drawn decidedly different fields. Unique Bella will be odds-on in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap, while the wagering will be spread among several 3-year-old fillies in the Grade 3 Fantasy.

Unique Bella, 7 for 9 in her career, all for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, will start from post 5 under Mike Smith in the 1 1/16-mile Apple Blossom, a $700,000 race for fillies and mares. She has been assigned high weight of 123 pounds and will concede from six to 11 pounds to her six rivals.

The weather forecast for Friday calls for thunderstorms and more than an inch of rain. If that is the case, Farrell, the co-second highweight at 117, will scratch, according to trainer Wayne Catalano.

Farrell, a winner of 7 of 13 starts, has run poorly the last two times she has competed over wet tracks.

“She’s doing great," Catalano said. "I’m very happy with her. But she will not be running on an off track. If we scratch, she will go to the La Troienne at Churchill instead.”

The Grade 1, $350,000 La Troienne is a 1 1/16-mile race May 4 on the Kentucky Oaks undercard.

A wet track will be a new experience for Unique Bella, the filly and mare sprint champion of 2017, who will be making her first start outside California.

“If she has to, I think she will handle it, just like she has handled everything else we've asked her to do,” Hollendorfer said.

Unique Bella won the Grade 2 Santa Maria at Santa Anita by nine lengths Feb. 10. She was forced to miss the Grade 1 Santa Margarita on March 17 due to a cough, according to Hollendorfer, but has since turned in a string of bullet workouts.

The field, in post-position order, comprises multiple Grade 3 winner Tiger Moth, trained by Brad Cox; two-time Grade 3 winner Unbridled Mo, Todd Pletcher; Fuhriously Kissed, Anthony Quartarolo; Beach Flower, a supplement by Mac Robertson; Unique Bella; Streamline, a stakes winner at Oaklawn the last three years for Brian Williamson; and Farrell.

The $400,000 Fantasy will match Grade 2 Demoiselle winner Wonder Gadot against the first- and second-place finishers of the Grade 3 Honeybee at Oaklawn - Cosmic Burst and Amy’s Challenge.

Wonder Gadot was based at Fair Grounds this winter, where she finished second by a neck in the Silverbulletday, third by 3 3/4 lengths in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra and third, beaten three-quarters of a length, in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks.

Trainer Mark Casse is scheduled to ship Wonder Gadot from Keeneland to Oaklawn on Wednesday.

David Cabrera, who is second in the Oaklawn standings, will be aboard when Wonder Gadot breaks from the outside post in the eight-horse field.

Cosmic Burst improved her record to 4 for 6, all for trainer Donnie Von Hemel, when she ran down Amy’s Challenge to take the March 10 Honeybee by 1 3/4 lengths. She has drawn post 4 with Richard Eramia named to ride.

Cosmic Burst will face Amy’s Challenge again in the Fantasy. Amy's Challenge, who won the six-furlong Dixie Belle at Oaklawn in January, opened up a long early lead when stretching out 1 1/16 miles in the Honeybee but came up short in the final furlong while holding second by 1 1/4 lengths over Sassy Sienna, who also is entered in the Fantasy.

Mile Smith picks up the mount on Amy’s Challenge, who will begin from post 6.

The entire field for the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy, in post order, is Sassy Sienna, for Brad Cox; Harbor Lights, Steve Asmussen; Tahoe Dream, Mac Robertson; Cosmic Burst; Bo Peep, Jenks Fires; Amy’s Challenge; Princess Warrior, Ken McPeek; and Wonder Gadot.