Aurelia's Belle Heads Arlington Oaks
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Aurelia's Belle and Interrupted head a group of 10 sophomore fillies entered in the $150,000 Arlington Oaks (gr. III) July 19 at Arlington International Racecourse.
The 1 1/8-mile Polytrack event goes as the seventh on a 10-race card, with an approximate post time of 4 p.m. CDT.
Trained by Wayne Catalano for James Miller, Aurelia's Belle comes into the Arlington Oaks off a victory via disqualification in the Regret Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Churchill Downs last month. The daughter of Lemon Drop Kid was bumped and floated out by A Little Bit Sassy in the 1 1/8-mile grass affair in which she originally placed second by a head.
Prior to that, Aurelia's Belle finished a well-beaten ninth in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) after scoring a win in the one-mile Pure Romance Bourbonette Oaks (gr. III) over the Polytrack at Turfway Park. Jockey Channing Hill rides the 124-pound co-highweight from post 9.
Shipping in from Fair Hill Training Center is the other filly with a 124-pound impost, Pin Oak Stud's Interrupted. Winner of the $100,000 Penn Oaks at Penn National Race Course in May, the homebred Broken Vow filly previously finished third in the Florida Oaks (gr. III) at Tampa Bay Downs.
All four of Interrupted's races have been on turf, but trainer Graham Motion sends her over the Tapeta surface at Fair Hill on a daily basis, so Arlington's Polytrack may not be a concern. Angel Serpa rides from post 3.
Holmark Stables' She's Offlee Good returns to the track and surface where she won the $100,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie last September. Winless since that effort, she has been on the improve of late with a third-place run for trainer Richie Scherer in the Northbound Pride Oaks at Canterbury Park.
Curtis Green's stakes-placed Maria Maria finished third to She's Offlee Good in the 2013 Lassie, and most recently captured a second-level allowance/optional claiming race against older rivals over a one-turn mile on Arlington's main track. The daughter of Curlin is trained by Jimmy DiVito.
Three other stakes-placed fillies are part of the starting lineup including Kathy Harty and Mark Dedomenico's Colonel Joan, third in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT); Tom Van Meter and Mike Stidham's Stellaris, runner-up in the Northbound Pride Oaks last out; and RNB Racing's Phaniebdancing, third in the Panthers Stakes at Prairie Meadows on a muddy track May 31.
Completing the field are Casner Racing's Stock Yard Hen, Glockenburg's Army, and G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s Annulment.
[raceEntries date="7/19/2014" country="USA" trackid="AP" racenumber="7"]