You Look Cold With Home Track Edge in Sorority

There's a unique sense of excitement that consumes even the most grizzled of trainers when they have a promising young horse just starting out. Or, as veteran trainer Rob O'Connor II put it: "Nobody ever dies when they have a good 2-year-old."

O'Connor hopes to know Sept. 6 if he does indeed have a good one in You Look Cold , sending her out in the $200,000 Sorority Stakes for 2-year-old fillies that will serve as the feature race on a Labor Day card at Monmouth Park.  

The early indications have already caused some giddiness: You Look Cold, a Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Frosted  , won comfortably Aug. 7, cruising to a 6 1/2-length victory in maiden company at Monmouth.

Now comes the next test.

"It's always ambitious when you go from breaking your maiden to a stakes race," said O'Connor. "But most everybody is in the same situation."

Owned by Kinsman Stable and F L I Racing, You Look Cold faces the added challenge of going two turns for the first time in the 66th edition of the one-mile Sorority after winning her debut at six furlongs.

The 62-year-old O'Connor, who has been training since 1985, isn't overly concerned about the added distance, calling it part of the growth process.

"If you look at her training format going into the race she has shown some speed in all of her works," O'Connor said. "I've really tried to back up on her and get her to relax. So we've tried to concentrate on that.

"We haven't put any real speed works into her. With that being said, her fitness is not in question. She is plenty fit."

O'Connor said the Sorority Stakes became an appealing option as the next race in part because You Look Cold is stabled at Monmouth.

"We talked about moving forward and what our options would be," said O'Connor. "(The owners) want to give her the opportunity to be a good horse.

"Saratoga was a possibility. We discussed it and felt it was in the best interests of her development to let them come to our home track and she could walk out of her stall and race. We felt it would be an advantage to us."

Now two Saratoga Race Course fillies are coming to her. 

e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Gimmick  ships to Monmouth from the Spa, where she was a maiden winner in her third start for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. Joel Politi's Microbiome  also won there July 15 in her debut for trainer Tom Amoss before tiring to fifth after chasing the pace in the Adirondack Stakes (G2).

The race also drew fillies that last raced in Delaware in Maestria  and Maryland in Runup .

Local runners Kingdom Queen  and Jumeirah  complete the field.

Entries: Sorority S.

Monmouth Park, Monday, September 06, 2021, Race 8

• STK
• 1m
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 3:52 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Kingdom Queen (KY)	Albin Jimenez	115	John P. Mc Allen	30/1
2	2Gimmick (KY)	Gerardo Corrales	117	Steven M. Asmussen	5/2
3	3Maestria (LA)	Charlie Marquez	117	Cathal A. Lynch	7/2
4	4You Look Cold (PA)	Jose C. Ferrer	117	Robert R. O'Connor, II	9/2
5	5Microbiome (FL)	Nik Juarez	117	Thomas M. Amoss	2/1
6	6Runup (MD)	Joseph D. Ramos	115	Laura Wohlers	8/1
7	7Jumeirah (KY)	Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.	117	Carlos A. David	5/1