Sky Girl takes flight in Dogwood

"I was actually hoping to be laying third," Lanerie said. "They weren't going

very fast after they out-broke me; they covered me up. I was content with sittin'

and she was traveling so nice up to the quarter pole. I was hoping to come

around -- I thought the rail was a little bit dead -- but it was getting late in

the race and (inside) looked like my only option. I didn't want to wait too

long. When I swung down there she bogged down on me a little bit and for one

minute I thought I maybe wasn't going to get there. When she got in there she

kind of loafed on me a little bit -- she was like, 'I got 'em, don't worry.'

What a nice horse."

Irish Lute held on for second by a neck over third-place finisher Elusive

Fate. Don't Tell Veda, Finding More and Guadalupe High rounded out the order of

finish. Fusaichiswonderful, 5-2 morning-line favorite So Many Ways and

Thetaloveandmine were scratched from the race.

"She ran terrific," said Dallas Stewart, trainer of Irish Lute. "She was in

command of the race the whole time and she just got beat by a nice filly."

Sky Girl was a fast-closing third in her racing debut back in

April over Keeneland's Polytrack. She made her Churchill bow on

May 3, breaking her maiden by 4 1/2 lengths. The dark bay captured an optional

claimer over a sloppy Churchill track in June and was exiting a third-place

finish in her stakes bow in the Arlington Park Oaks on July 20. With Saturday's

score, Sky Girl banked $67,518 to boost her bankroll to $150,853 from a 5-3-0-2

line.

Bred in Kentucky by Clearsky Farms, the daughter of Sky Mesa is out of the

Deputy Minister mare Vargas Girl, who is a half-sister to Grade 1 scorer Bevo.

Vargas Girl is also a half-sister to Grade 3 victress Moonlight Sonata, who

produced Grade 2 victors Wilburn and Beethoven.

Sky Girl's third dam is multiple

stakes queen Family Way, and her female family also boasts Grade 1 winner Twixt.

Sky Girl sold as a weanling for $52,000 at the Keeneland November sale and

then sold again as a yearling for $150,000 at the Keeneland September sale.

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