Wonder Gal has tough task in Acorn

ELMONT, N.Y. – Once trainer Leah Gyarmati gets Wonder Gal’s season started, everything else should fall into place. But due to an unusual set of circumstances, Wonder Gal comes into the Grade 1 Acorn on Saturday having had only one race since finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last fall – and that 2015 race was two months ago.

Wonder Gal had a nice 2-year-old campaign, finishing third in the Grade 2 Adirondack, second in the Grade 1 Frizette, and third in the Breeders’ Cup. Gyarmati kept her in New York for the winter, and her training went according to plan right up until the day she was to make her 3-year-old debut.

“We had her entered in a nice New York-bred allowance to get her ready for the Gazelle, but they canceled that card because snow was on the way, and they wanted to save the track for the next day’s races, which was the New York Claiming Crown,” Gyarmati said.

Gyarmati trained Wonder Gal up to the 1 1/8-mile Gazelle, no easy task off a five-month layoff, and she finished fourth under Irad Ortiz Jr. after making a wide, sweeping move.

“She kind of overreacted when Irad took hold of her and dropped too far back,” Gyarmati said. “She was very wide. All in all, I thought it was a great race.”

Gyarmati was going to take Wonder Gal to Churchill Downs and try to get into the Kentucky Oaks but said Wonder Gal “started coughing and had a little mucus, so we didn’t send her.”

Now, Wonder Gal will try to kick-start her season in the $750,000 Acorn, a one-turn mile that is expected to draw a large field that also will include the 8-for-8 Promise Me Silver, Kentucky Oaks runner-up Shook Up, Beaumont Stakes winner Miss Ella, and four-time stakes winner Condo Commando.

While the Acorn is not an easy jumping-off point, Gyarmati knows there are a lot of opportunities on the horizon.

“It’s a long year, and there is a lot of stuff we can do,” Gyarmati said. “She’s doing well, she’s a big filly, and we think she’s going to have a great year. She ran a big race to be third in the Breeders’ Cup, and I don’t see why she can’t do it again.”