Princess of Sylmar Reigns in Cat Cay

Princess of Sylmar won her 2014 debut in the Cat Cay Stakes at Aqueduct (Photos by NYRA/Coglinese Photos).
By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing
JAMAICA, N.Y. – Relief was the prevailing emotion when Princess of Sylmar made an auspicious 4-year-old debut in ruling the $100,000 Cat Cay Stakes by 3 ½ lengths against runner-up Wedding Toast on Sunday at Aqueduct.
“This should set us up for some fun this summer,” said Ed Stanco, who heads the ownership group known as King of Prussia Stable. He even mentioned his intention to throw a party in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., expected to involve a considerable amount of beer.
Stanco said of the comeback race: “My biggest concern today, for me anyway, was the fact that when they go from 3 to 4, sometimes they might not have the interest. Today, she showed it, which is great.”
His jubilation was understandable given Princess of Slymar’s misadventures to end her 3-year-old season. She stumbled at the start of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita and never quite got her feet under her on a speed-favoring surface. She finished 16 ¼ lengths behind West Coast-based Beholder, who easily prevailed at her home track to secure the Eclipse Award as the leading 3-year-old filly.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said in reflecting on the decision to supplement his filly to the Distaff, “The way the track was playing that day, it was never going to happen.”
Pletcher looks forward to running Princess of Sylmar next in the $1 million Ogden Phipps Handicap as part of the Belmont Stakes Day undercard on June 7. He mentioned the Delaware Handicap and the Personal Ensign at Saratoga as other targets. He all but ruled out another bid in the Distaff.
 “You never etch anything in stone,” he said, “but we are not thinking that way.”
Pletcher emphasized that the schedule will be designed to allow significant time between starts. “I think she runs well fresh,” he said. “One thing with her, we’re always trying to be aware of is keeping her weight up. It’s a long season.”
PRINCESS OF SYLMAR IN THE CAT CAY

Stanco noted that an eventual decision on the Distaff would be left to the trainer. He insisted he would be fine if skipping the Breeders’ Cup should come at the expense of another Eclipse Award, saying “She doesn’t have to prove that.”
Princess of Sylmar was given a 60-day vacation at WinStar Farm in Kentucky before she resumed training in early January. Pletcher was hardly surprised that she handled the Cat Cay’s one-turn mile with relative ease against Wedding Toast, a talented Grade 3 winner.
 “She had been training as good as ever,” he said. “We were expecting a good performance.”
With a solid pace ensured by the presence of frontrunning stablemate Highestmaintenance, Princess of Sylmar and jockey Javier Castellano broke from farthest outside in post five. Castellano kept her in a comfortable tracking position in fourth before giving her the cue to go approaching the three-eighths pole. She split horses and spurted into the clear. She completed the mile in 1:34.79 and paid $3.20 for a $2 wager to win.
 “One thing she did well today was split horses through that narrow hole and went by those horses very nicely. That was phenomenal,” Castellano said. “She was much the best. She was more settled and very classy in the post parade. Mentally and physically, Todd did a great job bringing her back.”