Cairo Consort Seeks Third Straight in Herecomesthebride

Town and Country Racing and Repole Stable's multiple stakes winner Cairo Consort , who earned graded credentials in dramatic fashion last time out, returns March 4 seeking her third straight victory in the $200,000 Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park.

The one-mile Herecomesthebride for 3-year-old fillies on the grass is the fourth of nine stakes, eight graded, worth $1.85 million in purses on a blockbuster 14-race card anchored by the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who previously won the Herecomesthebride with Pico Teneriffe in 1999 and Con Lima  in 2021, has rarely had a more astonishing victory than that of Cairo Consort in the 1 1/16-mile Sweetest Chant Stakes (G3T) Feb. 4 at Gulfstream. The Cairo Prince   filly threw her head in the air as the gates opened, spotted her rivals several lengths and trailed the field before uncorking a steady run through the stretch to win by three-quarters of a length.

"I thought it was a remarkable effort last time, when she got away the way she did, for her to be able to overcome that and do what she did and get up and win," Pletcher said. "I think we learned a little bit about her and how she wants to be ridden. Obviously, we'd like to break with the field but then let her settle and make a run like she did that day."

The Sweetest Chant was just the second start for Cairo Consort—winner of the 6 1/2-furlong Catch A Glimpse Stakes last summer at Woodbine—since being purchased for $875,000 in November following her third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). She won the one-mile Ginger Brew Stakes Jan. 7 at Gulfstream first time for her new connections.

Pletcher will also be represented by Three Diamonds Farm's Tituba , a daughter of multiple grade 1 winner Good Magic   that will be making her turf and stakes debut out of a front-running neck triumph in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight Jan. 29 at Gulfstream, her second career start.

"It's a big step for her," Pletcher said. "Just sort of looking at our options we felt like she's got some turf in her pedigree. She'll need to make a move forward, but we felt like it was worth a try."

Also entered are the French-bred duo of Anna Karenine  and Revalita ; C2 Racing Stable and Stefania Farms' Blind Spot ; Mark Casse trainee Papilio ; American Rockette —fourth in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) and Frizette Stakes (G1) last year and yet to race on turf; 2022 Untapable Stakes winner Danse Macabre ; Malleymoo  and 2022 Tepin Stakes winner Sweetlou'sgotaces , respectively sixth and ninth in the Sweetest Chant; Moonage Daydream , last out winner of the Stewart Manor Stakes; and Riding Pretty , an allowance optional claiming winner.

Entries: Herecomesthebride S. (G3T)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, March 04, 2023, Race 9

• Grade IIIT
• 1m
• Turf
• $200,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 3:01 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Anna Karenine (FR)	Tyler Gaffalione	121	Chad C. Brown	5/1
2	2American Rockette (KY)	Junior Alvarado	119	William I. Mott	12/1
3	3Malleymoo (KY)	Joel Rosario	119	Jack Sisterson	15/1
4	4Riding Pretty (NJ)	Paco Lopez	121	Eddie Owens, Jr	30/1
5	5Blind Spot (MD)	Edgard J. Zayas	121	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	15/1
6	6Revalita (FR)	Jose L. Ortiz	121	Chad C. Brown	6/1
7	7Cairo Consort (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	123	Todd A. Pletcher	3/1
8	8Papilio (IRE)	Luis Saez	121	Mark E. Casse	5/1
9	9Danse Macabre (KY)	Adam Beschizza	121	Kelsey Danner	10/1
10	10Moonage Daydream (NY)	Edgar Perez	121	Jorge R. Abreu	12/1
11	11Tituba (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	119	Todd A. Pletcher	30/1
12	12Sweetlou'sgotaces (KY)	Javier Castellano	121	Raymond Handal	6/1