Finest City Works for Filly & Mare Sprint

After every handful of strides Finest City took Oct. 15, trainer Ian Kruljac exhaled forcefully through pursed lips, as if he was going through his own private Lamaze class.

It's hard to blame the 29-year-old for being overanxious. Seltzer Thoroughbreds' daughter of City Zip, the defending champion female sprinter, is still the big horse in his barn. It's an uneasy experience to send a mare who means so much out for a breeze every week.

Working alone under jockey Corey Nakatani, the chestnut 5-year-old caught a pair of workers entering the turn who were just breaking off for their own works, which stopped Kruljac's breathing for a moment.

"Oh, they're jumping in on her," the young trainer said. "Well they're trying to, anyway."

Finest City wasn't having any that. Although she was still well within herself, a bit of her competitiveness kicked in and she never let the pair get anywhere close to her. Kruljac timed the drill in 1:12 1/5, while Santa Anita Park clockers recorded the work in 1:12 flat.

"She worked really nice," said Nakatani, who will be aboard Finest City when she defends her title in the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1). "She's feeling good. She's ready to go. I was trying to go a little easier than that, but when we started off and she saw those workers—she's just a little aggressive when you put another horse out there with her."

That aggressive attitude, although it's not as severe as it was when she was a younger filly, is still present and is an occasional task that needs to be dealt with, not only on the racetrack but back at the barn.

"There's good days and bad days," Kruljac said of the often cantankerous mare, while trying to hide a wry smile. "No pain, no gain."

The Filly & Mare Sprint will be Finest City's first start since the July 8 Great Lady M Stakes (G2) at Los Alamitos Race Course, where she finished third behind Skye Diamonds and Constellation, who she might meet again in November at Del Mar. After that effort she got a rest from training but remained at Santa Anita, and Kruljac takes a somewhat sarcastic tone when looking back at Finest City's 2017 campaign, which began with a victory in the Santa Monica Stakes (G2) and was followed by placings in three straight grade 1 races before the Great Lady M.

"She won't have the odds with her, again, but she's the champ," Kruljac said. "She doesn't get that respect, but I probably shouldn't have run her so many times this year. I should have just ran her three times like all the other champs, in good spots. It's my fault. She's nice and fresh now."

All that's left is one race, however, as she's scheduled to be offered during the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale, right after her Breeders' Cup run.

"She ran against all the top mares in the country. She didn't dodge anybody," Kruljac said. "I don't think you lose anything if you run in all grade 1s and grade 2s and you hit the board. She hasn't had an easy race all year."