Hungry Island breezes for Diana

Dual Grade 2 heroine Hungry Island tuned up for the Grade 1, $600,000 Diana

on July 28 at Saratoga with a :48 4/5 four-furlong breeze over the fast Oklahoma

training track on Friday.

"She went fine and is doing fine," Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said.

"All things being equal, we'll run next Saturday."

Hungry Island, an Emory Hamilton homebred daughter of More Than Ready, will

enter the 1 1/8-mile grass Diana off a third behind Tapitsfly and Winter

Memories in the one-mile Grade 1 Just a Game on June 9 at Belmont Park.

"She broke fine (in the Just a Game), but then (jockey John Velazquez) had to

ride her to get her into the race," McGaughey explained. "You kind of have got

to get her covered up.

"Nobody was going to beat (Tapitsfly) that day as fast she ran, but I think

stretching (Hungry Island) out is going to help her. She's going to be back (in

the field), but she's got to be back the right way. She had a pretty quick work

earlier in the week (prior to the Just a Game), and maybe that took some of the

sting out of her."

Hungry Island entered the Just a Game off a win in the Grade 2 Churchill

Distaff Turf Mile on May 5.

Winter Memories, whose dramatic victory in the Grade 2 Lake George last

summer at the Spa was one of the more memorable races of the summer, is

scheduled to breeze Monday as she prepares for a rematch with Hungry Island in

the Diana. The El Prado filly opened her four-year-old campaign with a 2

1/4-length win in the Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont.

"She's doing great," trainer Jimmy Toner said of Winter Memories. "Hopefully

she can get the meet off to a good start."

In addition to Hungry Island and Winter Memories, the Diana is expected to

attract Tapitsfly, 2011 Diana heroine Zagora, and international shippers Law of

the Range and Dream Peace, according to NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes.

Federation, Hard Seven, and Quiet Oasis are questionable.

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