TDN APBs: Judy the Beauty, Tonalist, Sweet Reason & Wonder Gal

A Real ‘Beauty’ Gets Back to Work…

Champion female sprinter Judy the Beauty (Ghostzapper) returned to the worktab with an easy four-furlong move in :49 3/5 (4/12) over Turfway Park’s Polytrack Mar. 21. The chestnut, now six, won four of five starts last term, headlined by a courageous victory in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita Nov. 1. 

“She just had her first work back the other day,” owner/trainer Wesley Ward commented. “We brought her up to Turfway and were very pleased with the work. It’s been a cold winter [in Kentucky] and it’s compromised her [training] a little bit. I’m just going to let her tell me when she’s ready.” 

A debut winner at Keeneland as a 2-year-old, Judy the Beauty has been a model of consistency since, winning five graded stakes–two at the highest level–and hitting the board in four other Grade Is. Bred in Ontario by Adena Springs, Judy the Beauty has posted a career record of 18-9-7-1 and earnings of $1,662,146. 

“She’s doing great,” Ward continued. “She only runs a couple of times a year. You just have to show up and lead her over.” 

Judy the Beauty, a $20,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, was a perfect four-for-four over Keeneland’s former Polytrack. She completed all of her major training on Keeneland’s new dirt surface before her aforementioned win in the big one in Southern California last fall. With this year’s Breeders’ Cup making its Lexington debut, Ward couldn’t be more pleased with the host site. 

“The cold winter didn’t really bother me that much because her main goal is in the fall at her home track,” Ward concluded. “It’s like Michael Jordan at the United Center–it’s her home court.”

Treadway/Gyarmati Duo Nearing Return…

After a long, cold winter in New York, things are about to heat up in a hurry for owner Jeff Treadway. 

Three-time Grade I victress Sweet Reason (Street Sense), a disappointing eighth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita Nov. 1, is being aimed at the GI Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs May 2. After having her comeback effort halted due to last Friday’s snowstorm, GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies third-place finisher Wonder Gal (Tiz Wonderful) will train up to the GII Gazelle S. at Aqueduct Apr. 4. Both fillies are conditioned by Leah Gyarmati. 

“Both fillies are doing great,” Treadway confirmed. “We’ve lost a bit of time by being in New York this winter, but Wonder Gal is still on target for the Gazelle with the goal being the [GI Kentucky] Oaks if all goes well. It was a disappointing cancellation last week since we were using it as a prep, but Leah worked her six furlongs [in 1:16 2/5 over Belmont training track Mar. 20] with a strong gallop out. It’s obviously tough to run in a Grade II at 1 1/8 mile first off the layoff, but we have to play the hand that we’re dealt.” 

He continued, “The timing of Sweet Reason’s return is more flexible; but ideally she would be ready to go in a race like the Humana Distaff at seven furlongs, then come back home for the [GI] Ogden Phipps [at Belmont June 6].” 

Sweet Reason, winner of the GI Spinaway S. at two as well as last term’s GI TVG Acorn S. and GI Test S., has posted four works since mid-February, including a four-furlong move in :48 2/5 at Belmont Mar. 16. The New York-bred Wonder Gal, a double-digit debut winner in the restricted Lynbrook S. at Belmont in July, has worked six times since the beginning of February. The ‘TDN Rising Star’ was also second in the GI Frizette S. at Belmont in October.

Vacation Almost Over for NY-Bound Tonalist…

After deciding to bypass a trip to Dubai, Robert S. Evans’s Tonalist (Tapit) will be aimed at a New York campaign in 2015 with a long-range goal of the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. 

Last term’s GI Belmont S. and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup hero most recently covered four furlongs in :50 4/5 (9/12) at Christophe Clement’s Payson Park base in Florida Mar. 22. He fired a bullet three-furlong breeze in :37 (1/4) Mar. 15, his first move since Feb. 10. The handsome bay was last seen rallying from far back to finish fifth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Nov. 1. 

“Everything is good,” Clement commented of the ‘TDN Rising Star.’ “He’s had the winter off and he’s on his way back. I’ve taken my time with him and we’ll go back to Belmont the first week of April. We’ll probably run him in late April or early May in New York. There are a few races possible, but nothing has been pinpointed for sure yet.” 

The stunning bay, bred in Kentucky by Woodslane Farm, has continued to thrive during his down time in the Florida sun this winter. 

“He’s always been a spectacular-looking horse, but even now more than ever,” Clement concluded.

-TDN APBs by Steve Sherack