By Brian DiDonato
Michael Tabor's Thrilled (Uncle Mo) looks to break through at the graded level while trying a synthetic surface for the first time in Woodbine's GIII Selene S. Sunday. Out-nosed in Belmont's grassy GIII Miss Grillo S. Sept. 27, she finished 11th behind still-unbeaten Canadian Horse of the Year Catch a Glimpse (City Zip) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf over yielding sod Oct. 30. The bay was second to last Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks third Lewis Bay (Bernardini) in the GII Demoiselle S. over Aqueduct's main track Nov. 28, and earned a first black-type victory for her two-length defeat of subsequent Churchill allowance winner Family Tree (Smart Strike) in Sunland's Plum Pretty S. Mar. 20. The progeny of Uncle Mo have seemed capable of just about anything at this point, but it's worth noting that Thrilled's graded stakes-winning dam Excited (Giant's Causeway) ran by far the worst race of her career in her only try on synthetic, when eighth in Keeneland's GI Ashland S. on the Polytrack in 2011.
'TDN Rising Star' Gamble's Ghost (Ghostzapper) finished second to the aforementioned Catch a Glimpse in last September's turfy GII Natalma S., and got out of trouble just in time to swoop to victory in the track-and-trip GIII Mazarine S. Oct. 4. Second when book-ended by Caren (Society's Chairman) and Niigon's Legacy (Niigon) in the paceless Princess Elizabeth S. for Canada-bred fillies Nov. 1, she was last seen finishing sixth–beaten just two lengths–in the GIII Florida Oaks on the Tampa turf Mar. 12. The Ivan Dalos homebred gets first-time Lasix here. Sixth sprinting on the Gulfstream dirt in the Mar. 19 Any Limit S., Caren was most recently second in the seven-panel restricted Lady Angela S. here May 1. Niigon's Legacy resurfaced to take an Ontario-bred allowance box to wire over her elders Apr. 22.
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