Walden to ship Olivia Maralda for Gamely

The stretch run of the sixth race at Keeneland on April 20 was tough to watch for backers of the European import Olivia Maralda.

Stuck in traffic with a furlong remaining in the one-mile race, Olivia Maralda rallied sharply to finish second by three-quarters of a length to Misread. The diminishing margin left trainer William Walden encouraged by the 4-year-old filly’s potential, enough to schedule a trip to Santa Anita for Monday’s Grade 1 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Olivia Maralda, purchased at auction for approximately $928,000 in Britain last fall by current owner Woodford Thoroughbreds, will be the 33-year-old Walden’s first runner in California. The filly was scheduled to be flown to the West Coast on Thursday.

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The Gamely will be Olivia Maralda’s third start in a Group 1 or Grade 1 race, and a chance worth taking after the loss at Keeneland in her American debut, Walden said. Flavien Prat was aboard Olivia Maralda on April 20 and has the mount in the Gamely.

“He learned about her that day and so did I,” Walden said on Wednesday. “She got stopped. When she did get free, she had an explosive turn of foot.”

Olivia Maralda, an Irish-bred by Kodiac, was seventh of 20 in the Group 1 English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse in Britain in May 2023, and ninth of 12 in the Group 1 Matron Stakes at Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland last September in her final start for trainer Roger Varian.

Olivia Maralda won the minor Surrey Stakes at seven furlongs at Epsom Racecourse in Britain last June.

The longer distance of the Gamely is not a concern for Walden, who thinks Olivia Maralda will perform well on a firm track. She raced on a good track at Keeneland.

“I think she’ll handle it just fine,” he said. “We’re excited to bring her. It’s obviously a jump in class from what she did at Keeneland.”

Walden is the son of Elliott Walden, the president of the prominent WinStar Farm in Kentucky. William Walden began training in 2022 and had his first graded stakes winner, and third career stakes winner, earlier this month when Pipsy won the Grade 3 Soaring Softly Stakes at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet.

Olivia Maralda will be his first start in a Grade 1 stakes since Clear the Air finished last of 11th in the 2023 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Clear the Air, a 24-1 upset winner of an allowance race at Keeneland last month, is entered in an allowance race at Churchill Downs on Saturday in what could be a big weekend for Walden.

“We’ll try to make this a good start to the 2024 summer,” Walden said.

The Gamely field is expected to include the graded stakes winners Anisette, Linda’s Gift, Nadette, Ruby Nell, and Uncorked.

There are 10 stakes at Santa Anita from Saturday through Monday, including five stakes for California-breds on Saturday. Sunday’s program is highlighted by the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes for fillies and mares on dirt.

Aside from the Gamely, Monday’s card has two other graded stakes – the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on turf, and the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles on dirt.

Two Rivers Over reroutes to Pleasanton Mile

Two Rivers Over, winner of the Group 2 Godolphin Mile in Dubai in March, was held out of Monday’s Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park in favor of a potential start in the $150,000 Pleasanton Mile at the Alameda County Fair in Northern California on July 7, trainer Doug O’Neill said on Wednesday.

“We had to get off that path of going to Texas,” he said. “Timing-wise, the Pleasanton Mile suits better.”

Two Rivers Over has not raced since his upset in the $1 million Godolphin Mile for owners Ty Leatherman and Todd Cady.

Two Rivers Over was claimed for $30,000 at Ellis Park last summer, and has since earned $845,697. The Pleasanton Mile is the richest race on the Northern California fair circuit.