Filly & Mare Turf Diary

FILLY & MARE TURF DIARY

SEPTEMBER 12, 2006

by Kellie Reilly

When the understudy comes out and makes mincemeat of her rivals

in a Grade 1 contest, what does that say about the star? This is precisely what

happened in Saturday's Garden City Breeders' Cup S. (G1), when Todd Pletcher's

other gray three-year-old filly, MAGNIFICENT SONG (Unbridled's Song),

indisputably in the shadow of her dynamic stablemate WAIT A WHILE

(Maria's Mon), demolished a fairly decent group on the inner turf at Belmont

Park.

Although there weren't any world beaters in the 1 1/8-mile

affair, a few reasonably useful yardsticks took part and gave the Garden City

form a respectable look. With a lethal last-to-first burst that is quickly

becoming her trademark, Magnificent Song inhaled the field in the stretch and

blasted past TAKE THE RIBBON (Chester House) to capture her second

straight graded stakes, following her score in Saratoga's Lake George S. (G3). Both Pletcher and rider Garrett Gomez agreed that Magnificent Song has

progressed recently. It remains to be seen whether she could be a force outside

of her own age group, however, and she's likely to stick to three-year-old

company in the October 14 Queen Elizabeth II Invitational Challenge Cup S. (G1)

at Keeneland.

Pletcher's post-Garden City comments suggested that Wait a While

may be given the chance to tackle older foes in the October 7 Flower Bowl

Invitational S. (G1) at Belmont. While the horseman prefers the four-week

spacing between the Flower Bowl and the Breeders' Cup on November 4, I'm

probably not alone in my eagerness to see this powerhouse of a filly take on a

tougher challenge. Given her untrammeled dominance in the American Oaks

Invitational S. (G1) and Lake Placid S. (G2), Wait a While is primed for a step

up.

Magnificent Song's Garden City wasn't the only result flattering

Wait a While. In the August 19 Del Mar Oaks (G1), American Oaks third

ARRAVALE (Arch) swept to a decisive 1 1/2-length victory over that same Take

the Ribbon. For the record, Take the Ribbon was demoted to fourth for

interference, but for the purposes of form evaluation, her genuine efforts in

the Del Mar Oaks and Garden City help to tie those races together and again

underscore the supremacy of Wait a While among three-year-old turf fillies.

A sophomore on the watch list is undefeated VACARE (Lear

Fan), who remained a perfect three-for-three after a four-length triumph in

Saturday's Pucker Up S. (G3) at Arlington Park. The Chris Block trainee has to

prove herself against stronger company, but judging by what she's shown so far,

Vacare is an intriguing prospect with potential. Interestingly, she's bred on a

similar cross to 2000 champion turf mare Perfect Sting (Red Ransom). Both are by

sons of Roberto from mares by Valid Appeal. Moreover, Vacare's second dam, Storm

O' Fire (Storm Bird), is a half-sister to the dam of champion and $3.2-million

earner Serena's Song (Rahy).

Speaking of mouth-watering pedigrees, the outrageously well bred

MY TYPHOON (Ire) (Giant's Causeway) got away with a sedate early lead in

the August 26 Ballston Spa H. (G2) at Saratoga and never looked back. The

four-year-old daughter of 1993 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) queen Urban Sea

(Miswaki), and half-sister to dual classic-winning champion and promising young

sire Galileo (Ire), injected a wicked :22 4/5 quarter entering the stretch to

open up a commanding lead and then had enough left to hold off a hard charging

KAREN'S CAPER (War Chant) by three-quarters of a length. The runner-up

emerges with plenty of credit, as she didn't have much of a chance to overhaul

My Typhoon given the way the 1 1/16-mile race unfolded.

Also at the Spa, NOBLE STELLA (Ger) (Monsun) once again

demonstrated her class when lording it over her opponents in the 1 3/8-mile

Glens Falls H. (G3) on September 4. The striking dark bay is in the form of her

life for Roger Attfield, but I suspect she may be more the type for the E. P.

Taylor S. (Can-G1), in which she was sixth last year, rather than the Breeders'

Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1). If she does take another stab at Woodbine, it will

be a vastly improved Noble Stella who lines up this time around.

Although trainer Ron McAnally is not inclined to consider MEA

DOMINA (Dance Brightly) for the Breeders' Cup, she deserves a tip of the cap

for her brilliant front-running performance in the September 2 Palomar Breeders'

Cup H. (G2) at Del Mar, in which she held on by a neck in a course-record time

of 1:39.67 for 1 1/16 miles. Note that the classy THREE DEGREES (Ire)

(Singspiel [Ire]) charged from last to get second. Not only was she the only one

to put a scare into the winner, but she did that over a distance shorter than

she'd prefer. All in all, it was a terrific sign that the Paddy Gallagher filly

is rounding into top form after a layoff following a failed dirt experiment in

January. Presumably these two will renew rivalry in the 1 1/4-mile Yellow Ribbon

Invitational S. (G1) at Oak Tree on September 30.