Groupie Doll's Daughter Doll Baby Earns Debut Score

This column highlights the performances of maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are grade/group winners, or have dams that are grade/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners in particular who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Gulfstream

Whisper Hill Farm's homebred Doll Baby , a daughter of Tapit   and two-time champion Groupie Doll , scored a one-length victory in her Jan. 30 debut for trainer Ralph Nicks at Gulfstream Park.

The 3-year-old took on a field of six other sophomore fillies in a seven-furlong maiden test. Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Doll Baby sprinted out of the gate and went straight for the lead to set fractions of :22.92, :45.63, and 1:11.31 through six furlongs. She then galloped out to finish the distance in a final time of 1:25.34 on a fast track.

The filly is the fourth foal to race out of the champion mare who won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) two years in a row in 2012-13. Whisper Hill bought Groupie Doll for $3.1 million out of Trackside Farm's consignment at the 2013 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Groupie Doll has produced two other winners (both by Tapit) in Tapability , who won one of nine starts, and Doll Collection , who won or placed six times from eight starts. She also has a 2-year-old Justify   colt and was bred to Speightstown   for 2022.

Two races later the same day, Michael Tabor's Beside Herself  won her third start for trainer Todd Pletcher on the Gulfstream turf. The Uncle Mo   filly, who debuted Oct. 29 as a 2-year-old, finished third in her two previous starts.

In Sunday's maiden test for 3-year-old fillies, run at about 1 1/16 miles, Beside Herself ran a similar race to Doll Baby, going to the lead early but setting a more moderate pace. Fractions clicked off in :24.96, :49.87, and 1:14.28 through six furlongs and then jockey Luis Saez kept the filly in the clear to win by 3 1/4 lengths to finish up in 1:43.26 on firm turf.

Bred by Chelston, Beside Herself is out of the grade 3-winning Giant's Causeway mare Excited.

Two other 3-year-old winners at Gulfstream this week were expensive sales at auction. The first, Michael Tabor's Comedic , won her fifth start Jan. 27 for trainer Simon Callaghan.

Comedic, ridden by Julien Leparoux from mid-pack to score by a neck in the about five-furlong race on the all-weather track (originally scheduled for turf), had raced in Southern California in 2021. She made the trip to South Florida for her 2022 debut where she finished second in a Jan. 8 maiden special weight on the all-weather. She completed the distance of her maiden win in :57.29. The Practical Joke   filly has not finished off the board in her five starts.

Bred by Dr. Amy Rabanal, Constance Wickes, and Highclere, Comedic is out of the Speightstown mare Goforitmrsmiller, who is a half sister to multiple stakes performers and stakes producers, including graded winners Miss Isella and Sir Cherokee. She was purchased by agents Jamie McCalmont and Ben McElroy for $800,000 at The Gulfstream Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select 2-year-olds in training sale in Florida, from SGV Thoroughbreds' consignment.

The other winner was Pletcher trainee Swing Shift , who won his debut going wire-to-wire in a seven-furlong maiden test Jan. 29 under Irad Ortiz Jr.

The Midnight Storm   colt won by 1 1/4 lengths in a final time of 1:24.53 on a fast track. He is owned by WinStar Farm, Woodford Thoroughbreds, Commonwealth, and Siena Farm.

Bred by Siena Farms, Swing Shift is out of the Indian Charlie mare Tasunke and was a $550,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training out of Woodford Thoroughbreds' consignment.

Oaklawn

Aaron Sones' Ethereal Road  won his season debut and fourth start Saturday at Oaklawn Park. The Quality Road   colt raced under Luis Contreras in 12th and last through much of the 1 1/16-mile test before making progress and then rallying to a four-length win.

Ethereal Road, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, completed the distance in 1:46.82 on the fast track.

Bred by Paul Pompa Jr., Ethereal Road is out of the War Front   mare Sustained , who is grade 3-placed and produced grade 3 winner Turned Aside .

Delta Downs

Mike McCarty's Lightning Struck  won his second start at Delta Downs for trainer Steve Asmussen Jan. 28, giving his sire Practical Joke another winner. The colt took on a field of nine other 3-year-olds going five furlongs.

Lightning Struck raced in midpack under Ty Kennedy, raced wide around the turn picking off horses, and made his bid for the lead in the stretch. He won by three-quarters of a length in a final time of 1:00.34 on a fast track.

Bred by Nursery Place, Lightning Struck is out of the Grindstone mare Stone Hope, dam of Qatar Airways Minstrel Stakes (G2) winner Spirit of Valor .