Sands Point Has Foreign Flavor
Saturday’s Sands Point S. at Belmont Park drew a field of 11 talented turf females and, given the prevailing wet weather in metropolitan New York, a single main-track-only entrant in the form of MGSP Pangburn (Congrats). Should the race remain on the grass–which it will in all likelihood–a quartet of fillies with solid European form is set to take on some of the best from the East Coast and a single California shipper who is not completely out of the question.
Osaila (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) makes her second trip across the Atlantic, having finished third to Lady Eli (Divine Park) as the 5-1 third betting choice in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf at Santa Anita. First-up winner of the G3 Nell Gwyn S. Apr. 15 (video), she was backed at 15-2 for the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas May 3, but never really reached contention and checked in a mid-division seventh. Top-weighted at 133 pounds for the Sandringham H. at Royal Ascot June 17, Osaila overcame late trouble and handed Godolphin’s Always Smile (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) her first career defeat when giving that rival seven pounds (video) and exits a narrow defeat against older horses in the G3 Oak Tree S. at Glorious Goodwood July 31. With a strong run in the Sands Point, Osaila will remain under the care of Richard Hannon for Keeneland’s GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup in October and could continue her career in the U.S. under the tutelage of Todd Pletcher, reports Al Shaqab Racing’s Bradley Weisbord.
Malabar (GB) (Raven’s Pass) resumed from a seven-month absence to be a very good fourth, some 4 1/2 lengths ahead of Osaila, in the Guineas, but was eighth in the Irish equivalent May 24 and split the field in ninth in the G1 Prix de Diane at Chantilly June 14. Blinkers went on for the G3 Thoroughbred S. at Goodwood July 31, and the gear changed seemed to make the difference, as Malabar showed good acceleration to stride home a three-length winner (video) over the very useful Kool Kompany (Ire) (Jeremy). Rafael Bejarano has curiously been recruited to ride the filly, who will race without Lasix.
The rare American-based horse with European formlines is Miss Temple City (Temple City). Runner-up to Lady Eli in what has become a key running of Keeneland’s GIII Appalachian S. Apr. 12, the dark bay filly proved easily best in the May 15 Hilltop S. at Pimlico before her overseas venture. No better than a 50-1 chance internationally in the G1 Coronation S. at the Royal Meeting June 19, she traveled well in the one-mile test and looked a real chance in the straight before checking in fourth, beaten two lengths by Ervedya (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). Given plenty of time to recover from her travels, Miss Temple City was consigned to a three-wide trip in the GII Lake Placid S. at Saratoga Aug. 14 and got first run, only to be outfinished by Sentiero Italia (Medaglia d’Oro). Though she was beaten just over a length, Miss Temple City took the worst of it trip-wise, and if she has any improvement in her, should have a say in the outcome from an ideal draw.
Sentiero Italia is this division’s progressive dark horse, as she followed a flashy Belmont allowance score May 28 with a dead-heat for fourth behind Lady Eli in the GI Belmont Oaks July 4. She was cutting back to this distance for the Lake Placid and took full advantage of her recency over Miss Temple City.
“She’s trained very well since her last race,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said of Sentiero Italia, who will be ridden by Joel Rosario. “She couldn’t be better, but there are some really nice European fillies that will be pretty tough.”
Her Emmynency (Successful Appeal) was the impressive winner of Santa Anita’s Surfer Girl S. last October and would have had her fair share of backers for the Juvenile Fillies Turf before being forced to miss that event. The bay most recently bounced back from a disappointing sixth in the GII San Clemente H. July 19 with a runner-up effort to Sharla Rae (Afleet Alex) in the GI Del Mar Oaks and should be in the early mix.