Finest City Back to Defend Great Lady M. Title

Before she tasted Breeders' Cup glory and took home end-of-the-year honors, everything came together for Seltzer Thoroughbreds' Finest City one afternoon last year at Los Alamitos Race Course.

Even now, more than a year later, trainer Ian Kruljac has trouble putting the whirlwind of Finest City's 2016 Great Lady M. Stakes (G2) victory into words. Outside of those recognizing his last name—his father is trainer Eric Kruljac—Ian Kruljac was a relative unknown. The City Zip   filly's 1 1/4-length victory was the young trainer's (he was 27 at the time) first graded stakes win, when he only had two horses under his name.

BALAN: Finest City Surges By to Win Great Lady M.

"I was in shock," Kruljac remembered. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know any better. We knew how talented she was, but that didn't take away the thrill."

Four races later Finest City wore the yellow and purple flowers after her Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) victory, and then came the Eclipse Award for champion female sprinter.

HAMMONDS: Finest City Scores in Filly & Mare Sprint

After starting her 5-year-old season with a clear win in the Santa Monica (G2) and a trio of grade 1 placings, Finest City will return to the scene of her breakthrough score at Los Al to defend her title in the Great Lady M. July 8.

"We're excited. We're hoping to get a good track and a good surface to run on," said Kruljac, who explained that the Santa Anita Park dirt course recently has been both hard and hard to handle for Finest City. "(Jockey) Mike (Smith) said something was 'stinging' her in her last race (the grade 1 Beholder Mile), and that's why he took her back (off the pace)."

The main challengers in the Great Lady M. are LNJ Foxwoods' grade 1 winner Constellation and multiple graded victress Pretty N Cool.

Constellation was a neck away from winning her second grade 1 last time out in the April 8 Madison Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, but just came up short to Paulassilverlining, who went on to defeat Finest City by a neck in the May 6 Humana Distaff (G1) at  Churchill Downs.

Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman's Pretty N Cool won her last two meetings with Constellation—in the March 5 Las Flores (G3) at Santa Anita and the 2015 Matron (G2) at Belmont Park—but finished third last time out in the Desert Stormer (G3) June 18 at Santa Anita.

Another entrant with improving form is Skye Diamonds, a California-bred daughter of First Dude   trained by Bill Spawr, who came up a half-length short behind grade 1 winner Vale Dori in the Adoration Stakes (G3) last time out May 7 at Santa Anita. That race was at 1 1/16 miles, however, and Skye Diamonds has three wins from four starts at the Great Lady M.'s 6 1/2-furlong distance.

Rounding out the field are stakes winners Cuddle Alert and So Sweetitiz, and Avicii, an eight-time winner from the claiming and optional-claiming allowance ranks.

Great Lady M S. (G2)

LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, Saturday, July 08, 2017, Race 8

• 6 1/2f
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 5:28 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Cuddle Alert (CA)	Agapito Delgadillo	119	Reed Saldana	20/1
2	2Constellation (KY)	David Romero Flores	121	Jerry Hollendorfer	5/2
3	3So Sweetitiz (KY)	Jamie Theriot	119	Martin F. Jones	12/1
4	4Pretty N Cool (KY)	Martin Garcia	124	Bob Baffert	3/1
5	5Skye Diamonds (CA)	Tiago Josue Pereira	119	William Spawr	4/1
6	6Avicii (KY)	Norberto Arroyo, Jr.	119	Peter Miller	15/1
7	7Finest City (PA)	Tyler Baze	121	Ian Kruljac	2/1