Lady Eli's Miracle Comeback Looms

Chad Brown has a hard time believing his most tenacious charge has come this far to run in the Aug. 27 Woodford Reserve Ballston Spa (Gr. IIT) at Saratoga Race Course. Then again, her determination bolsters his faith in her return.

"Lady Eli, to me, is steel," he said. "I'm a fan of hers, along with being her trainer."

Sheep Pond Partners' undefeated filly fought for her life last July in a battle against laminitis caused by a nail she stepped on after winning the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (gr. IT). Remarkably, she has recovered to enter full training again, and this Saturday is the even-money favorite on the morning line for the 1 1/16-mile Ballston Spa.

"It's incredibly rewarding to get her where she is today," Brown said. "She's a remarkable horse, but she had some help along the way from a lot of talented people who put in a lot of overtime to tend to her every need, and it's paying off.

"It's great to see her go out there and be back on top in her works."

Co-owner Jay Hanley said the highs and lows of owning such a horse, who went from the top of the game to near death, was an extremely emotional experience.

"It's hard to even put into words. ... I literally can't even talk about it," he said, attempting to recount the time of uncertainty for the 4-year-old daughter of Divine Park.

"For about a week last July, it was very, very, very questionable," he said. "I flew down the next day because we thought maybe she was going to be gone. It was clear that it was definitely life or death. ...There was about a week there that we thought we would lose her."

After turnout time in Kentucky and returning to Brown in Florida, Lay Eli began breezing on the Belmont Park turf July 3, one day short of a year after the incident. Her race may be the 12th on a 13-race Travers Day card, but for her connections, Saturday is "Ballston Spa Day."   

With seven others entered, grade I winner Miss Temple City is the main competition for 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT) winner Lady Eli. 

The 4-year-old Temple City filly won her 2016 debut for trainer Graham Motion at Keeneland in the grade I Maker's 46 Mile, becoming the only filly to ever do so. She was then shipped to England for Royal Ascot where she placed a respectable fourth in the group II Duke of Cambridge Stakes June 15. She runs for The Club Racing, Needle In A Haystack, and Sagamore Farm.

Upon returning to the U.S. she finished a close fourth in the July 23 Diana Stakes (gr. IT), which Chiliean-bred champion Dacita won.

Sentiero Italia, fourth behind Lady Eli in the Belmont Oaks Invitational, won her only start this year, an allowance optional claiming race July 22 at Saratoga. 

Last year, the daughter of Medaglio d'Oro won the Maker's Mark Lake Placid Stakes and the Sands Point Stakes (both gr. IIT) before finishing third in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes and placing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (both gr. IT). Kairan McLaughlin trains her for Godolphin.