In spite of Ce Ce As a championship sprinter, seeing her in a two-legged race isn’t unusual.
Especially at Oaklawn Park.
Two years ago, the 2021 women’s champion sprinter took the 2020 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) at 1/16 mile, and coach Michael McCarthy would love nothing more than a second win. two of Apple Blossom in Hot Springs, Ark., Race to a 6-year-old mare’s resume.
For that reason, McCarthy became the champion daughter of owner Bo Hirsch about Elusive quality on March 12 Azeri Stakes (G2) $350,000 in Oaklawn to give the California-based mare a solid preparation for a $1 million Apple Blossom on April 23 in 1/16 mile bet on Saturday.
“This time of year in California, there aren’t many one-shot opportunities for her,” McCarthy said. “So we started thinking about going back to Oaklawn to see if we could go back to Apple Blossom and use Azeri as a barometer to see where she was.”
Ce Ce, who won the 2021 Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) Breeders Cup at Del Mar on the way to the Eclipse Awards, finishing runner-up, three stages behind Merneith on February 5 lasts seven times at Santa Monica Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita . Park while racing for the first time since the World Championship.
“She’s training Azeri very well,” McCarthy said of his purebred daughter Belong to me mare Miss Houdini . “Her work the day before (: 59.80 March 5) was very good. I like where we are,” McCarthy said. “We had a lot of trouble finding a track that she liked, but Oaklawn proved to be one of the best races and timings.”
Azeri promises to be anything but a replacement for Ce Ce, whose eight rivals include 2021 Azeri winner Shed mosthedevil one of the top women distance runners in training.
“At this time of year, when they give away this much money, you don’t expect them to be easy,” McCarthy said.
Multi-class 1 winner Shedhesthedevil won the 2020 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) for coach Brad Cox and her win in Azeri last year was one of the most thrilling races of the year as she scored with her head. after a heated showdown with the older dirt female 2021 champion Letruska .
The Daredevil The 5-year-old will start for the first time since she chased a brutal pace in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) on November 6 and finish sixth in her sole finish in 2021 for the ownership group of Flurry Racing Stables, Qatar Racing Bulk and Bulk Farms.
“She’s really doing great,” Cox said. “She looks amazing and her works are amazing. I’m so happy her 2022 campaign kicks off.”
Shedhesthedevil won 9 out of 17 starts (three of which were tier 1 bets) with an earnings of $2,331,458. Daughter of congratulation The Starship Warpspeed mares were bred by WinStar Farms and purchased by Flurry for $280,000 from Hunter Valley Ranch shipment at the November 2019 Breeding Stock Sale in Keeneland.
She joined the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale in 2021 but was acquired as a new partnership for $5 million by Flurry, Qatar, and Whisper Hill Farms. The ownership group is currently listed as Flurry, Qatar and Big Aut.
The field of nine also includes Stonestreet Stables’ Pauline’s Pearl One Tapit coached by Steve Asmussen, winner of the Houston Ladies Classic (G3), and Exline-Border Racing, SAF Racing, and Richard Hausman’s Lady Mystify a Bernardini coached by Peter Eurton who finished second to Pauline’s Pearl in last year’s Zia Park Oaks after beating her earlier in Remington Park Oaks (G3).
Item: Azeri S. (G2)
Oaklawn ParkSaturday, March 12, 2022, Race No. 9
- Level II
- 1 1/16m
- Dust
- $350,000
- 4 yo & up Fillies and Mares
- 5:10pm (local)
