Zindaya Stretches Out in Perfect Sting Stakes

After winning stakes races at six and seven furlongs on the Belmont Park Widener turf course, Zindaya will return to the surface a third straight time when she tries the one-mile Perfect Sting Stakes Friday, July 3.

In her only previous try at a mile, Zindaya led the Autumn Miss Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Santa Anita Park into the stretch before fading to third in her final start of 2014. That finish marked the first stakes-placing for the daughter of More Than Ready   trained by Christophe Clement.

Regis Racing's 4-year-old Zindaya enters Friday's $100,000 Perfect Sting off easy victories in the May 1 License Fee Stakes, a six-furlong race she led every step; and the June 4 Intercontinental Stakes, a seven-furlong race she stalked in second early before rolling to a 2 1/4-length victory.

Rider Manuel Franco was on board for both of those Belmont turf stakes scores and is scheduled to ride again Friday.

The expected field of 10 older fillies and mares also includes John Eaton and Steve Layman's Daring Kathy, who will be making her first start of 2015. The daughter of Wildcat Heir   closed her 3-year-old season with a front-running victory in the My Charmer Handicap (gr. IIIT) Nov. 22 at Gulfstream Park West.

Daring Kathy closed out last season with two straight stakes wins on the Gulfstream Park West turf as she also won the Cellars Shiraz Stakes there when trained by David Fawkes. Now trained by Chad Brown, Daring Kathy has won five of her seven turf starts, including four stakes wins, and has never finished worse than third on the grass.

Other horses of interest include grade II winner Emotional Kitten, who enters off a runner-up finish in the Galorette Stakes (gr. IIT) May 16 at Pimlico Race Course; New York-bred Invading Humor, who in her previous start picked up her second stakes win against other state-breds in the Mt. Vernon Stakes and will take aim at her first open stakes win; and Photo Call, who in May finished second to grade I winner Discreet Marq in the Beaugay Stakes (gr. IIIT) on the Belmont inner turf.