Birdie Gold Earns Quick Return in Red Carpet

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/18/2017 - 13:38
Link: 
Birdie Gold Earns Quick Return in Red Carpet
Image: 
Description: 

Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Birdie Gold training for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar

Trainer Gary Mandella did not plan on running Teneri Farm's homebred Birdie Gold so soon after she made her U.S. debut Nov. 4 in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T).

But with limited opportunities to go long on the grass and after observing positive signs during morning training, Mandella decided to run her back 19 days later in the $100,000 Red Carpet Handicap (G3T) Nov. 23 at Del Mar.

The trainer said the 3-year-old Birdstone  filly convinced him to make the move with her :48 2/5 workout Nov. 18 at Del Mar, her first timed drill since a 12th-place finish in the Filly & Mare Turf.

"It was certainly not something I had planned," Mandella said of the Peruvian group 1 winner's entry in the Red Carpet. "I didn't expect her to come out of the Breeders' Cup as well as she has. And once I absorbed that, you have to admit that there aren't opportunities (for fillies) very often at this distance that are graded."

Last year's Red Carpet winner, Nuovo Record, also came into the race off of a relatively non-competitive run in the Filly & Mare Turf.

The 1 3/8-mile turf test drew 14 entries, including multiple graded stakes-placed East Coast invaders Galileo's Song and Lottie looking for a breakthrough.

Both have placed in two of their three graded tries. Dell Ridge Farm's Galileo's Song, a daughter of Galileo (IRE) trained by Chad Brown, finished second last time out in the Long Island Handicap (G3T) at Aqueduct Racetrack and also was the runner-up in the Boiling Springs Stakes (G3T) at Monmouth Park in 2016. Jack Swain III's homebred Lottie, an Arch filly trained by Graham Motion, came in third last time out in the Rood & Riddle Dowager Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland and was just a half-length back three starts back, when she finished second in the Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course.

Another multiple graded stakes-placed contender is Team Valor International's Responsibleforlove, who was an also-eligible for the Filly & Mare Turf, but did not draw in. The Duke of Marmalade filly finished third in the Rodeo Drive Stakes (G1T) last time out at Santa Anita Park and also placed in the Santa Barbara Stakes (G3T) earlier this season.


Entries: Red Carpet H. (G3T)

Del Mar, Thursday, November 23, 2017, Race 6

  • Grade IIIT
  • 1 3/8m
  • Turf
  • $100,000
  • 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
  • 1:30 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Laseen (IRE) Tiago Josue Pereira 117 James M. Cassidy 12/1
2 2Dynamic Mizzes K (KY) Gary L. Stevens 116 Mark Glatt 15/1
3 3Evo Campo (IRE) Rafael Bejarano 122 Patrick Gallagher 4/1
4 4Victress (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Stewart Elliott 116 Robert Gilker 30/1
5 5La Manta Gris (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Kent J. Desormeaux 114 George R. Arnold, II 15/1
6 6Kiss Me Now (BRZ) Brice Blanc 117 Paulo H. Lobo 20/1
7 7Responsibleforlove (IRE) Joseph Talamo 121 Neil D. Drysdale 7/2
8 8Do the Dance (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Tyler Baze 117 Gary Sherlock 20/1
98 9Galileo's Song (IRE)Keeneland Sales Graduate SCRATCHED 0 UNKNOWN -
9 10Earring (KY) Drayden Van Dyke 117 Thomas F. Proctor 6/1
10 11Birdie Gold (KY) Mario Gutierrez 117 Gary Mandella 15/1
11 12Domestic Vintage (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Kyle Frey 113 Neil D. Drysdale 30/1
12 13How Unusual (CA) Corey S. Nakatani 118 Michael Pender 6/1
13 14Lottie (KY) Flavien Prat 119 H. Graham Motion 9/2