By Steve Sherack
With an 8-1 morning-line quote on Disco Rose (Weigelia) in Saturday's GII Forward Gal S., Butch Reid may have them right where he wants them.
The trainer's last three wins in graded stakes company?
Poseidon's Warrior's 36-1 upset in the 2012 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga and a pair of shockers by Afleet Again at 41-1 in the 2011 GII Breeders' Cup Marathon and at 24-1 in the 2010 GIII Withers S., respectively.
With a sneaky good third-place finish after a wide journey throughout the 1 1/8-miles distance of the GII Demoiselle S. at Aqueduct Nov. 28 and a bullet four-furlong move in :47 (1/102) in the interim at Palm Meadows Jan. 24, Disco Rose merits a very long look while cutting back in distance to seven furlongs in Hallandale this weekend.
“She ran really well in that last spot and came out of it really well, too,” Reid offered. “We brought her down here [to Florida] two months ago with the idea of giving her a little freshening and being selective about our spots. We were actually looking to come back maybe in the [GII] Davona Dale [Feb. 27], but she's just been so sharp and had a really monstrous breeze the other the day that we decided to go at it in here and take a shot.”
After campaigning Disco Rose's multiple stakes-placed full-sister Fat Kat, Reid didn't hesitate to sign the ticket on her younger sibling for $25,000 as a yearling at the 2014 EASSEP sale. Disco Rose, bred in Pennsylvania by Wynoaks Farm LLC and St Omers Farm, was produced by the Disco Rico mare Katarica Disco.
“She looked like a twin sister of Fat Kat, who ran in some stakes and made almost $250,000 for us,” Reid explained. “That's what really caught our eye.”
A runaway maiden winner going two turns at Parx at fifth asking Oct. 6, Disco Rose was fourth in the GIII Tempted S. in Ozone Park Nov. 4 before closing out her juvenile campaign finishing only 2 3/4 lengths adrift the promising Lewis Bay (Bernardini) after a less-than-ideal trip in the Demoiselle.
“We wanted to give her a little time and put some weight on her–she was never really the most robust filly,” Reid said of Disco Rose. “My wife [and assistant trainer] Ginny has really done a nice job with her down here. I think she's put on at least 50-75 pounds since her last start. She looks fantastic and is training really well. Her body is maturing and is really going in the right direction since giving her a little bit of time.”
Disco Rose is campaigned solely by Glenn Bennett, owner of New Jersey's Tru-Fit Frame & Door. Along with Philip Squire and Robert Olszewski, Bennett also races the aforementioned Fat Kat.
“By some chance, I met him in a parking lot at Parx Racing and we hit it off,” Reid said of Bennett. “He had been an owner and things weren't really going that well for him at the time. I just happened to meet him at the right time. It's been great training for him. He really enjoys the sport and is all fired up for the weekend. He loves coming out to the races, too. I have 12 horses for him right now after starting with just a couple about two years ago.”
Reid concluded, “We've won a bunch of races together and he's dying to get a stakes win. It would be really fun to get one for him this weekend.”
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