Wonder Gal Seeks Frizette Rebound

By Jerry Bossert

When Wonder Gal made her debut, she certainly lived up to her name.

The 2-year-old daughter of Tiz Wonderful   broke her maiden by 14 1-2 lengths at Belmont Park on July 6, and now after a troubled third-place finish in the Aug. 10 Adirondack Stakes (gr. II) at Saratoga Race Course, will try to nail down her first grade I victory in the $500,000 Frizette Stakes on Oct. 4.

In the Adirondack, Wonder Gal loomed a strong threat in the stretch but failed to find a clear path along the rail and settled for third.

"The hole was opening and the hole was closing," trainer Leah Gyarmati said. "She's a big filly, so she's not going to just shoot right through there, and then she got slammed. When she got in the hole, (Vivian Da Bling) came over on her and turned our filly sideways, and (Wonder Gal) hit the rail. It makes you wonder how she would have run with a clean trip."

Wonder Gal was only beaten four-lengths for it all.

"Those are two nice fillies that beat us (Cavorting and Angela Renee), but it would have been nice to have clear sailing and see how close we get," Gyarmati said. "She's such a big filly. She needs that room, and you can't really stop her and start her again."

Wonder Gal will get a big jockey switch to veteran jockey Cornelio Velasquez for the Frizette after having been ridden by apprentice Taylor Rice in the Adirondack Stakes. She was made 6-1 on the morning line, breaking from post 2.

Cavorting, the filly who won the Adirondack Stakes, is the 5-2 second-choice on the morning line.

The Adirondack Stakes could turn out to be a key race as runner-up Angela Renee came back to take the Chandelier Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park.

"(Angela Renee's win) certainly flatters our form," said Kiaran McLaughlin, who trains Cavorting. "Cavorting has been working very well, and all systems are go. She's a lovely filly."

Condo Commando, who splashed home to take the Spinaway Stakes (gr. I) by 13 1/4 lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 31, was made the 2-1 morning line favorite in the Frizette and will break from post 6in the 7-horse field.

The one-mile Frizette is a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" race for the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) and is part of an 11-race card from Belmont that also features the Champagne Stakes (gr. I), the Hill Prince (gr. IIIT), and the Temperence Hill Invitational.

Rounding out the field are Ring Knocker, who is still a maiden after two starts; Feathered, 9 3/4-length winner of a maiden race at the Spa for trainer Todd Pletcher; Cayman Croc, who broke her maiden by 1 1/2 lengths at Delaware Park; and By the Moon, second-place finisher in the Spinaway.