Sterling Silver Bids for Victory Ride Win

Mark T. Anderson's New York-bred Sterling Silver  will look to make the grade in the July 9 Victory Ride Stakes (G3) for sophomore fillies sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs over the main track at Belmont Park.

Trained by Tom Albertrani, Sterling Silver enters from a professional 4 1/4-length victory in the May 30 Bouwerie Stakes over Big Sandy with returning rider Trevor McCarthy in the irons.

The win came on the heels of two off-the-board efforts against open company, finishing fifth in both the Busher Invitational Stakes in March at Aqueduct and the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) going around two turns on April 8 at Keeneland.

"She's coming off a good win in her last start, so hopefully we can see another good performance this weekend," Albertrani said. "We tried to stretch her out two turns and maybe it wasn't the right distance for her. So, putting her back in with her with New York-breds and cutting back in distance was probably the main thing."

Sterling Silver won her sophomore debut in January going the Victory Ride distance in the Franklin Square Stakes against fellow state-breds at the Big A.

Albertrani said turning back a half-furlong from her last outing should be no problem for her.

"She certainly performed well last time and she seems like she's been training as well as the last race coming into the next one. So, we're hoping for a good performance," Albertrani said. "I don't think the cutback will make too much of a difference. That's kind of in her range, so we're looking forward to it."

A $13,000 purchase at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, Sterling Silver won her debut in November at Aqueduct as the first and only start of her juvenile season. She was bred in the Empire State by Mallory and Karen Mort.

McCarthy will try to engineer another winning ride from the outermost post 7.

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez hopes that stakes-winning Hot Peppers  can use the Victory Ride as a springboard to the seven-furlong Longines Test Stakes (G1) Aug. 6 at Saratoga Race Course for owners Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso.

A Florida-bred daughter of Khozan  , Hot Peppers won three of her first five starts for trainer Ronald Spatz in Florida, including a trio of sprint victories at Gulfstream Park in January and February.

After finishing a distant seventh in the seven-furlong Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies Stakes in March at Tampa Bay Downs for her stakes debut, Hot Peppers was privately purchased by her current connections and sent to Rodriguez in New York.

Hot Peppers proved to be an astute buy, making easy work of the six-furlong June 12 Jersey Girl Stakes in her first outing for Rodriguez. Luis Saez sent the bay filly to the lead and never looked back as she widened margins throughout to cross the wire 6 3/4 lengths the best.

"With the way she was training in the morning, I thought she would run big," Rodriguez said. "But the way she did it was extra impressive for sure."

Rodriguez said Hot Peppers has continued to train forwardly since her dominating Jersey Girl performance.

"She's been doing good. I kind of babied her because the race came up a little quick, but she seems good," Rodriguez said. "In a perfect world, we'd like to wait until the Test, but it's way too long for that. If she performs the way we expect, the Test is the goal."

Hot Peppers will be trying the 6 1/2-furlong distance for the first time. Her lone start beyond six furlongs was her off-the-board run in the Sophomore Fillies.

Other entrants include Smash Ticket  who is making her second return to graded company for trainer Todd Fincher, and grade 3 winner Pretty Birdie  who is trained by Norm Casse.

Entries: Victory Ride S. (G3)

Belmont Park, Saturday, July 09, 2022, Race 8

• Grade III
• 6 1/2f
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 4:38 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Stand Up Comic (KY)	Frankie Pennington	120	Robert E. Reid, Jr.	-
2	Smash Ticket (KY)	Mike E. Smith	120	Todd W. Fincher	-
3	Half Is Enough (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Michael J. Trombetta	-
4	Happy Soul (KY)	John R. Velazquez	122	Wesley A. Ward	-
5	Pretty Birdie (KY)	Joel Rosario	124	Norm W. Casse	-
6	Hot Peppers (FL)	Luis Saez	122	Rudy R. Rodriguez	-
7	Sterling Silver (NY)	Trevor McCarthy	122	Thomas Albertrani	-