Simply Breathless Ships North for Athenia

After the First Lady Stakes (G1T) turned out to be too salty for his taste, trainer Neil Drysdale looked north and found a much more palatable spot for his 4-year-old filly Simply Breathless.

The alternative was the $200,000 Athenia Stakes (G3T) at Belmont Park, where the daughter of Bated Breath will face eight rivals in the Oct. 20 stakes that is noticeably devoid of the grade 1 winners that would have made her life quite difficult at Keeneland.

"The First Lady came up a very tough race," Drysdale said, "and I thought (the Athenia) was a better spot for her."

So instead of taking on the likes of Uni, Juliet Foxtrot, Vasilika and Rushing Fall in Kentucky, Simply Breathless will chase a second graded stakes win in a field of fillies and mares where's she's the lone graded stakes winner in 2019.

Simply Breathless started her career in Europe, where she won three of eight starts in 2018. Sold to Matthew Cloros, she shipped to the United States and won the Golden Poppy Stakes on turf at Golden Gate Fields for Drysdale in late April.

She then faced graded stakes rivals June 22 in the Wilshire Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park, and her late-running style propelled her to a 1 1/4-length victory.

The daughter of the Nayef mare Darling Grace was shipped to Arlington International Racecourse for the 1 3/16-mile Modesty Handicap (G3T), where she was third behind Juliet Foxtrot. In her most recent start, she was third, beaten 2 1/4 lengths, in the one-mile Three Chimneys Ladies Turf Stakes (G3T) at Kentucky Downs Sept. 7.

"She's doing well," Drysdale said. "She's been running well all year, though I don't think she liked the (1 3/16 miles) in the Modesty."

Simply Breathless drew the rail and will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

Don Alberto Stable's Andina Del Sur is the other U.S. graded stakes winner in the field, though that black-type victory came more than a year and a half ago in the Florida Oaks (G3T) at Tampa Bay Downs.

Trained by Tom Albertrani, the daughter of Giant's Causeway has one win in six 2019 starts, taking the Violet Stakes at Monmouth Park by a nose Sept. 28 in her previous race.

Joseph Imbesi's Pennsylvania-bred Sweet Bye and Bye captured an allowance optional claiming race at Belmont Park last month in her most recent start for trainer Steve Klesaris. That followed a second-place finish by the daughter of Sky Mesa  in the Dr. Teresa Garofalo Memorial Stakes for state-breds at Parx Racing Aug. 3.

Edouard de Rothschild's Victorine arrived in the United States last year and quickly finished fourth in the Sands Point Stakes (G2T) and third in the Pebbles Stakes. But in two 2019 starts, her best effort was a third behind the victorious Sweet Bye and Bye in a Sept. 22 turf race.

Augustin Stables' Xenobia also started her career in Europe and was a group 3 winner, but in two U.S. starts for trainer Jonathan Thomas, the daughter of Falco was fourth and then second, just a half-length behind, in a pair of allowance races at Belmont Park. She will break from the outside post with new rider John Velazquez in the irons.