Abreu Duo Takes on My Gal Betty in Jessamine
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Photo: Michael Burns
My Gal Betty wins the Catch A Glimpse Stakes at Woodbine
Trainer Jorge Abreu saddled his first Keeneland winner this spring, and will be gunning for his first stakes victory at the Lexington track Oct. 10 when he sends out two runners in the $200,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine Stakes (G2T).
The 1 1/16-mile turf contest for 2-year-old fillies drew an overflow field of 14, with two also-eligibles, and features grade 1-placed My Gal Betty. The Jessamine is the final race in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Challenge series, awarding a "Win and You're In" spot to the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Churchill Downs.
Abreu will send out Steve Weston's Moravia and NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and Maspeth Stable's Espresso Shot Wednesday. Moravia will make her United States debut after four starts in Ireland, winning a maiden in her third outing and finishing second in a group 3 at Leopardstown, the latter being her most recent start July 26.
"Mr. Weston bought her just before her last start and we got her in the barn in July," Abreu said. "The plan all along was for this race and then the Breeders' Cup."
The acclimation process for Moravia has gone well.
"I like what I have seen and she has trained really well since we got here," Abreu said of the filly, who last worked Sept. 29, completing five furlongs in 1:01.70 at Saratoga Race Course. Manny Franco has the mount from post 9.
Flavien Prat will venture from Southern California to ride Espresso Shot, who comes into the race off a Sept. 14 maiden victory at Belmont Park in her second start, a race scheduled for the turf but moved to the main track.
"She has a lot of ability," Abreu said of Espresso Shot, whose two starts have come against fellow New York-breds. "She ran a good race at Saratoga going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf, and then won the off-the-turf race (at 1 1/16 miles) at Belmont. She has got some class to her."
Among the juvenile fillies looking for their first graded score is My Gal Betty, who came close to accomplishing the feat last time out at Woodbine when she finished second in the grade 1 Natalma Stakes. The Point of Entry filly trained by Roger Attfield for owner William Werner, rallied from the outside in the one-mile turf race, but could not catch the winner and finished a length back.
One start prior My Gal Betty, who broke her maiden on debut by four lengths May 20 at the Ontario track and then was disqualified from first to third in the My Dear Stakes, won the Catch A Glimpse going six furlongs on yielding turf by 4 1/4 lengths in her third outing.
Previously ridden by Rafeal Hernandez, My Gal Betty will get the services of Javier Castellano for the first time.