Curlin's Approval Heads Hurricane Bertie

One year after she earned the first of a trio of graded stakes, Curlin's Approval is back as the horse to beat in defense of her victory in the $175,000 Hurricane Bertie Stakes (G3) presented by Fasig-Tipton Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park.

A victory Saturday would make Curlin's Approval—a 5-year-old daughter of Curlin  bred, trained, and co-owned by Happy Alter—the third two-time winner of the Hurricane Bertie and only the second to accomplish that feat in successive years.

Gold Mover won the Hurricane Bertie in 2002 and 2003 before the race earned graded status in 2005. Any Limit won in 2007 and 2009 for the late Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens.

Curlin's Approval is following a similar blueprint to her start as a 4-year-old, when she won the Hurricane Bertie by 2 1/2 lengths in her seasonal bow after finishing a hard-fought second in the one-mile Rampart Stakes (G3) five weeks earlier.

Last month Curlin's Approval finished a game second as the favorite in the Rampart, which was her first start since a 13th-place finish in the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Del Mar.

All seven of her wins have been at Gulfstream, including the Princess Rooney Stakes Presented by Hardacre Farm (G2) in July. She also won the Royal Delta Stakes (G2) in February of 2017.

St. Elias Stable's grade 2 winner Nonna Mela, third in the Rampart, 3 1/4 lengths behind Curlin's Approval, will make her return in the Hurricane Bertie, in what will be the final start of her career. The 4-year-old Arch filly has three wins, a second, and two thirds with purse earnings of $285,420 from eight starts.

"This is going to be her final start before she is retired as a broodmare, so we'd love to send her out on a good note," said trainer Todd Pletcher. "Speaking with the ownership, she's a very good-looking graded stakes winner, and we just talked about breeding her this year and decided we wanted to get an early cover. We felt like the timing of this race worked out well."

            

Nonna Mela raced four times last year, with her lone win coming in an August allowance at Saratoga Race Course. Second in the Prioress Stakes (G2) and fifth in the Lexus Raven Run (G2) prior to the Rampart, she won two of her first three races, which included the 2016 Adirondack Stakes (G2).

"I thought she ran competitively in her last start. She just ran into a couple of fillies than ran very well on the day, but I thought she gave it a good effort," Pletcher said. "I think the seven furlongs suits her very well. I think that would be an ideal distance for her. We just need her to step forward with a top effort."

Pletcher will also send out Repole Stable's Spice Lady in the Hurricane Bertie. The 4-year-old daughter of Speightstown  went unraced at 2 and won a pair of sprints at Guflstream among just three starts last year.

Entries: Hurricane Bertie S. (G3)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 27, 2018, Race 9

• Grade III
• 7f
• Dirt
• $175,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:38 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Marley's Freedom (KY)	Mike E. Smith	117	Robert B. Hess, Jr.	10/1
2	2Jordan's Henny (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	117	Michael A. Tomlinson	20/1
3	3Rich Mommy (KY)	Emisael Jaramillo	123	Victor Barboza, Jr.	12/1
4	4Shar Ran (IL)	Julien R. Leparoux	121	Michael A. Tomlinson	15/1
5	5Apologynotaccepted (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	119	Brendan P. Walsh	12/1
6	6Bodacious Babe (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	117	Jane Cibelli	15/1
7	7Curlin's Approval (KY)	Luis Saez	121	Happy Alter	2/1
8	8Spice Lady (KY)	John R. Velazquez	117	Todd A. Pletcher	5/1
9	9Magalie (FL)	Ivaldo Santana	117	Patrick L. Biancone	30/1
10	10Nonna Mela (KY)	Javier Castellano	117	Todd A. Pletcher	4/1
11	11Moonlit Promise (KY)	Gary Boulanger	123	Josie Carroll	10/1
12	12Money Or Love (FL)	Ashley Castrenze	121	Anthony J. Russo	12/1