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Stacelita outclasses Flower Bowl foes

Stacelita was just toying with the opposition, according to Ramon Dominguez (NYRA/Adam Coglianese) Martin S. Schwartz's Stacelita easily justified 1-2 favoritism in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park, solidifying her status as the leading American-based contender for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Confidently handled by Ramon Dominguez, the Chad Brown trainee was not at all perturbed by a wide trip, or by having to rally from well off a pedestrian pace on yielding turf. Stacelita, who broke from the outside and was hung out wide entering the first turn, settled at the tail of the compact field. Dynaslew secured the early lead and strolled through leisurely splits of :26, :53 2/5, 1:20 4/5 and 1:46 1/5. Juddmonte Farms' royally-bred Deluxe, the 7-2 second choice, bided her time in a watching second, but came up surprisingly empty leaving the far turn. By that point, Stacelita had made steady progress in circling the field. She put her overmatched rivals away in the stretch and drew off by two lengths with consummate authority, completing the soggy 1 1/4 miles in 2:10 1/5 and paying $3, $2.50 and $2.10.

"I wasn't happy about being wide," Dominguez recapped, "but I was very pleased with the way she was handling herself. When she saw the light, she wanted to run.

"She felt like she was playing with those fillies. She was just really in control. Once she got to the backside and I tucked behind (Gitchee Goomie), I felt like she would have a pretty good kick, and she did."

Brown also admitted his concern about the early stages of the race.

"Getting floated wide on the first turn, I was a little worried," Brown said. "But when you have Ramon riding, it eases your (mind) a little bit because he finds a way to work out a trip under adverse circumstances. I was feeling pretty good down the backside when I saw how much horse he had, and when he ranged up to the leaders in hand, obviously, I felt good. I thought, all in all, it was a great, patient ride by Ramon."

Distorted Legacy, the longest shot on the board at 42-1, closed well to finish best of the rest. Dynaslew salvaged third, and Emerald Beech, Gitchee Goomie and Deluxe rounded out the order under the wire. Aruna and Senada were scratched because of the rain-softened ground.

"I probably got beat by the best filly in the country on the grass," commented Distorted Legacy's trainer, Angel Penna Jr.

Stacelita improved her mark to 17-10-2-2, $2,372,268. She is now two-for-two versus fellow distaffers in the United States, having captured the Grade 1 Beverly D. last time out at Arlington Park on August 13. Her only loss on these shores came in the Grade 1 United Nations versus males on July 2, where she was compromised by a less than ideal trip and wound up third.

Previously based in France with Jean-Claude Rouget, Stacelita was a four-time Group 1 star at home, capturing the 2009 Prix de Diane (French Oaks), Prix Saint-Alary and Prix Vermeille, and the 2010 Prix Jean Romanet. She also scored in the 2009 Prix Rose de Mai and last year's Group 3 La Coupe, and finished runner-up in last year's Group 1 Prix de l'Opera and Nassau. The five-year-old concluded her French career with a third as the defending champion in the La Coupe on June 13.

"She is a remarkable horse," Brown said, "and she's had an outstanding career to this point. Hopefully she can cap it off with a win in the Breeders' Cup.

"Most likely we will stay here until the week of the Breeders' Cup and do all her training here. She seems to like New York. Her training to this point, knock wood, has been flawless at Belmont, so the plan is to stay here as long as we could before the Breeders' Cup."

Bred by Jean Pierre Joseph Dubois in France, Stacelita is by Monsun and out of Group 3-placed stakes heroine Soignee, a daughter of Dashing Blade.

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