By Randy Moss
Three of this week's six fastest ran at Laurel on the Preakness weekend undercard.
6 – BENEDETTA, LRL, 5/16, Skipat Stakes R4, 6 furlongs (video)
Beyer Speed Figure- 90 (2nd)
(m, 5, by City of Light–Tessie Flip, by Grand Slam)
O-Kaleem Shah Inc. B-Springhouse Farm & Dromoland Farm (Ky). T-Steve Asmussen. J-Jose Ortiz.
Benedetta hasn't earned back her $750,000 2-year-old purchase price, but this runnerup finish puts her at $645,550. Her residual value is boosted by placings in the GIII Winning Colors and GIII Sorrento, but she has mostly been expertly spotted to pick up 2nd- and 3rd-place checks in ungraded stakes.
5 – SUNNA, LRL, 5/15, The Very One Stakes R11, 5 1/2 furlongs (turf) (video)
Beyer Speed Figure – 90
(f, 4, by Dominus–Warm, by Flatter)
O/B-Leverett Miller (Ky). T-Kent Sweezey. J-Luis Saez.
Owner/breeder Miller gave Sweezey permission to drop Sunna into the claiming ranks earlier this year in hopes of winning a race. They had no idea they would trigger a turf renaissance. She is now a perfect 3-for-3 in grass sprints, and capitalized at Laurel on a lack of competing speed in The Very One on the Black-Eyed Susan undercard.
4 – SPIRITED BOSS, SA, 5/16, Mizdirection Stakes R9, 6 1/2 furlongs (turf) (video)
Beyer Speed Figure – 93 (2nd)
(f, 4, by Street Boss–Spirited Storm, by Stormy Atlantic)
O/B-TAG Stables (Fla). T-Jose D'Angelo. J-Mike Smith.
Fellow trainer Peter Eurton reportedly suggested to Florida-based D'Angelo that he consider shipping Spirited Boss to Santa Anita in April for the GIII Monrovia down the hill, and the filly surprised at 18-1 for her first graded win. So why not make a return trip for the $100,000 Mizdirection? This time favored Queen Maxima turned the tables, but Spirited Boss gave another strong showing to lose by less than a length.
3 – LOST HORIZON, MTH, 5/16, Serena's Song Stakes R5, 1 mile 70 yards (video)
Beyer Speed Figure- 93
(f, 4, by Into Mischief–Wow Cat (Chi), by Lookin at Lucky)
O/B-Peter Brant/White Birch Farm (Ky). T-Chad Brown. J-Luis Rivera Jr.
Two days after it was reported Brant is moving the majority of his Brown-trained runners to other conditioners, Brown saddled Brant's Lost Horizon to a smashing 8 1/2-length Serena's Song victory with a career-best Beyer. She's the second foal of Chilean import Wow Cat, the 2018 GI Beldame winner Brant co-owned with Stud Vendaval. Brant now owns the mare solo, having bought out his partner for $1.7 million in 2019 at Fasig-Tipton November.
2 – STRIKER HAS DIAL, LRL, 5/16, Skipat Stakes R4, 6 furlongs (video)
Beyer Speed Figure – 93
(m, 5, by Dialed In–Lotta Lolly, by Smart Strike)
O-Chief Horse Futures. B-Springwood Farm (Ky). T-Horacio De Paz. J-Ricardo Santana Jr.
Last year at Pimlico, Striker Has Dial finished such a good 2nd in the Skipat that De Paz was encouraged to try the race again Saturday–even though the mare hadn't raced in 7 1/2 months. The inactivity wasn't a problem: she led from start to finish at Laurel at 7-1 odds. “She'd been training so good. It was just a matter of if we had enough fitness,” De Paz said.
1 – QUEEN MAXIMA, SA, 5/16, Mizdirection Stakes R9, 6 1/2 furlongs (turf) (video)
Beyer Speed Figure – 95
(m, 5, by Bucchero–Corfu Lady, by Corfu)
O-Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures. B-Saul Rosas (Fla). T-Jeff Mullins. J-Juan Hernandez.
Queen Maxima ran her record to 6-for-8 in Santa Anita turf sprints, with four of those victories coming down the hill. She was the 2-5 favorite when Spirited Boss (above) defeated her last month in the GIII Monrovia, but after a subsequent unsuccessful foray to Churchill Downs, Mullins wheeled her back in 15 days–including the cross-country return trip to SoCal–and she rewarded his confidence by notching another win.
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