Vequist using Davona Dale as starting point for another title run

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – When Vequist last raced, everything went perfectly. She won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, resulting in a divisional championship, and now she’s back for a brand new season. She won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, resulting in a divisional championship, and now she’s back for a brand new season.

Perfection will not be expected nor required when Vequist makes her eagerly awaited 3-year-old debut Saturday in the Grade 2, $200,000 Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park, but trainer Butch Reid really wants to see something he can build on. Naturally, the Kentucky Oaks is the first major target, and the Davona Dale is critical toward that end.

“We don’t have the screws completely tightened for this one, but it should be a nice stepping-stone with some big races down the line in mind,” Reid said. “I expect her to run well.”

With Irad Ortiz Jr. riding, Vequist will break from post 3 when she faces 11 other 3-year-old fillies in the 33rd running of the Davona Dale, a one-turn mile carded as the 12th of 14 races on Fountain of Youth Day. The Davona Dale is a 50-20-10-5 qualifier toward the April 30 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

Vequist raced four times in 2020 in earning the Eclipse Award as the top 2-year-old filly of the year, with victories in the Spinaway and BC Juvenile Fillies sandwiched around a runner-up finish as an odds-on favorite in the Frizette. Her trip in the Breeders’ Cup couldn’t have gone any better, as she saved ground on both turns of the 1 1/16-mile race, rallying from just off the pace for a two-length score. She earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure, tops in this field.

“She’s bigger and she’s filled out nicely since her 2-year-old campaign,” said Reid, who trains Vequist for the partnership of Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, and the Swilcan Stables of her breeder, Tom McGrath.

“She always had a good head on her shoulders, so she didn’t have too much to jump forward there. She’s just a smart filly and doesn’t worry about too much, so we’re excited to get this first one under our belt.”

Vequist got a short break on a central Florida farm following the Breeders’ Cup and has had four works at the Palm Meadows training center.

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“We’ve been down here a couple of months already, so we’ve taken our time and so far, so good,” Reid said. “We didn’t have to train her too hard for this one, and she’s coming up to it well.”

A Kentucky-bred daughter of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, Vequist is the 7-5 morning-line favorite for the Davona Dale.

If Vequist is to be upset, the most likely candidates are Curlin’s Catch and Millefeuille, with perhaps Lady Traveler and Hindsight being among the more capable outsiders.

Curlin’s Catch (post 4, Jose Ortiz), an Ontario-bred, has both the Kentucky Oaks and the Queen’s Plate as goals. By Curlin out of an A.P. Indy mare, the bay filly was an authoritative winner of her last two starts, ending with the Feb. 6 Suncoast at Tampa Bay Downs.

“She’s starting to run to her wonderful pedigree,” trainer Mark Casse said.

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Millefeuille (post 5, John Velazquez), trained by Bill Mott, followed a four-length maiden victory at Belmont Park in October with a sharp runner-up effort with an 86 Beyer in the Grade 2 Demoiselle on Dec. 5 at Aqueduct. The Curlin filly shows five works at Payson Park in the interim.

Lady Traveler (post 2, Kendrick Carmouche) was a late-running second in her last start, the Jan. 30 Forward Gal at seven furlongs, while Hindsight (post 9, Tyler Gaffalione) could be a pricey sleeper off a Churchill maiden score in late November.

Rounding out the lineup are Wholebodemeister, Crazy Beautiful, Competitive Speed, Adios Trippi, Happy Constitution, Pens Street, and Three Tipsy Chix.

The Davona Dale, named for the Hall of Fame filly owned by Calumet Farm, serves as a lead-in to the March 27 Gulfstream Park Oaks. The winner of the 2020 Davona Dale, Swiss Skydiver, went on to become the 3-year-old filly champion.

Velazquez has won the Davona Dale a record six times, with the latest coming 10 years ago on R Heat Lightning.

Post time for the Davona Dale is 5:04 p.m. Eastern.