High-Priced Donna Veloce Earns High Praise

Kaleem Shah's Donna Veloce created quite a stir in her Sept. 28 debut at Santa Anita Park. The word was out on the daughter of Uncle Mo  as the 3-5 choice dazzled Southern California horsemen with her 9 1/4-length victory, going 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.22. The effort was so strong, she was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) over three other juveniles who have won at the grade 1 level.

Donna Veloce, which means "fast woman" in Italian, is trained by the Santa Anita-based Simon Callaghan and was an $800,000 purchase this year at The Gulfstream Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Florida sale of 2-year-olds in training. The striking bay, who is out of the Montjeu mare Coin Broker was bred in Kentucky by Coin Broker Syndicate. She was in the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale as part of the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consignment, where Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds outlasted agent Ben McElroy (on behalf of Shah), getting her for $450,000.

"When we saw her, Randy (Hartley) and I thought we couldn't go home without her, but we were hoping we could afford her," remembered Dean DeRenzo. "Hill 'n' Dale said she had been pretty popular, so we were ecstatic when we got her. She was a picture of elegance.

"When we broke her, she was a good-minded filly, and as she started breezing, we knew she'd do well," he said. "We were so excited about her, we brought clients to the farm to take a look at her. Then at the sale, she put in the fastest breeze ever by a filly at Gulfstream Park (:09 4/5)."

Shah's team had little trouble pulling the trigger at the higher price point.

"I was the underbidder at the yearling sale," McElroy confirmed. "We followed her along and she showed up at Gulfstream, where she put in a bullet breeze. She's an outstanding physical, and we've always liked her. She's very well balanced, has great angles, and is a great mover and has an excellent disposition. She's everything you'd like."

Her disposition was on display Oct. 30 when another Breeders' Cup entrant, Giant Expectations, flipped before going out for morning exercise. The 2-year-old Donna Veloce was nearby and didn't fret, even as the rider of her lead pony helped to nab the riderless Giant Expectations.

As for the $800,000 sale price, Shah didn't fret.

"He seems to like that number," McElroy said with a laugh.

At the 2018 Fasig-Tipton sale, Shah paid the same amount for Bellafina. A two-time grade 1 winner last summer, the daughter of Quality Road  was the favorite for last year's Juvenile Fillies, finishing fourth. She added this spring's Santa Anita Oaks (G1) and is a player for the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

Callaghan's first high-priced, low-odds Juvenile Fillies runner was Moonshine Memories, a $650,000 purchase at The Saratoga Sale who was a 2-1 favorite in 2017 at Del Mar.

Before Donna Veloce's debut, Callaghan was equally impressed.

"Ben told me the back story about how much he liked her as a yearling," Callaghan said. "When she did the breeze at the 2-year-old sale and galloped out beautifully, we had high aspirations for her. She's like all of the good ones. When they come through that breeze-up scene, which is quite rigorous on them, you can see she is still very calm, relaxed, and unfazed by everything.

"We loved her going into the race, but you have to see it on the track in the afternoon. Her debut was an exciting performance."

In her debut, Donna Veloce earned a 108 Equibase Speed Figure and a 91 Beyer Speed Figure—both the highest numbers set by any other runner in the field.

The trainers of others in the field have taken notice.

"There was a big buzz about her prior to her maiden race, and what she did was like, 'Whoa,'" said trainer Doug O'Neill, who will saddle Lazy Daisy (post 5) and Comical (post 9) in the Juvenile Fillies. "It's a pretty tall order to ask for her to do, but you just don't see many fillies win the way she did. I can see why they are making her the favorite."

Callaghan thought she'd be one of the choices—grade 1 winners British Idiom, Bast, and Wicked Whisper are all 7-2 on the morning line—but sees the challenges as well.

"It's a tall order; it's all pretty tight," he said. "We know it's a tough ask going from a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race to a 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup race. I've seen the other local horses train. It's not an easy race. The two East Coast fillies will be tough, but that's what you'd expect when you get to this level race."