Competitive field set for Sweetest Chant

Joyce Young's three-year-old Kentucky homebred filly Caroline

Thomas, a regally-bred daughter of Giant's Causeway out of Grade 1 winner

Bit of Whimsy, will try to earn some black-type of her own when making her

stakes debut in Sunday's $100,000

Sweetest Chant at Gulfstream Park.

Jockey Luis Saez picks up the mount on Caroline Thomas for

trainer Barclay Tagg in a field of eight sophomore fillies drawn for the one-mile turf test. She has made three starts beginning with a runner-up

debut on turf at Belmont Park in mid-September, a maiden win over the Aqueduct

course in early November, and a sharp allowance victory over the Gulfstream

course on December 16.

"We've had high expectations for her from the beginning," Tagg said. "She's

doing real good and bucking and playing this morning. It looks like a graded

stakes-quality field. It will be a tough test but we think she'll be up to it."

Caroline Thomas' dam, Bit of Whimsy, is a daughter of Distorted Humor bred

and raced by the same connections. She won four of 10 starts including the Grade

1 Queen

Elizabeth II Invitational Challenge Cup at Keeneland and Grade 2 Mrs. Revere at

Churchill Downs for Tagg in 2007.

Caroline Thomas' chief rival in the Sweetest Chant would appear to be Mystic Love with regular jockey Elvis Trujillo aboard for trainer

Jessica Campitelli. Mystic Love has won three of four starts and beat colts over

the course last out when winning the Dania Beach on December 15. The Maryland-bred

daughter of Not For Love also captured the Selima sprinting over the Laurel Park

turf in her previous start on October 27.

"We chose the Dania Beach against colts rather than wait

for the Ginger Brew two weeks later because of the timing and the distance," Campitelli

explained. "We didn't want her to have to go a mile-and-and-sixteenth in her

first start going a distance after sprinting in her first three starts when she

only had to go a mile in the Dania Beach. She's trained great and we're looking

forward to this race."

New York homebred Discreet Marq

has already run in four stakes for trainer Jane Cibelli, most recently finishing

third in the 1 1/16-mile Ginger Brew over the Gulfstream course on New Year's

Day after setting the pace to midstretch. Jockey Joe Rocco Jr. gets the call

on the daughter of Discreet Cat, who won a November 22 overnight stakes on turf at Aqueduct in her previous start.

An intriguing contender in the Sweetest Chant is Irish-bred Premier Steps to be ridden by Javier

Castellano for trainer Chad Brown. The daughter of Footstepsinthesand won one of

five starts in England and France last year before traveling to California where she

finished sixth in the Grade 3 Miesque Stakes at Hollywood Park last out on November 24,

although beaten only 2 3/4 lengths for it all after a rough start.

Leinan makes her first start since

capturing the Glorious Song going seven furlongs over Woodbine's Polytrack on November 11,

and will keep jockey Luis Contreras aboard for trainer Josie

Carroll.

Leinan is a daughter of Ready's Image purchased for $80,000

at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sales and made three starts before

the Glorious Song, beginning with an impressive five-length debut victory on

Keeneland's Polytrack in April. She didn't run again until posting runner-up

efforts at Woodbine in September and October, one on Polytrack and the other on

turf.

Completing the Sweetest Chant field are Jadira, a debut maiden winner on New

Year's Day; allowance scorer I O Ireland, who was unplaced in the Ginger Brew;

and Heading to Toga, fifth in a pair of stakes in New York in her past two.

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