Enliven Looks Strong in Demoiselle Field at Aqueduct
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Enliven breaks her maiden by 1 1/4 lengths Sept. 30 at Belmont Park
Coming off a runner-up finish in the Tempted Stakes (G3), Enliven heads a field of seven 2-year-old fillies in the $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) Dec. 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The 1 1/8-mile Demoiselle is the first of three graded stakes on the Cigar Mile Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) undercard.
The Godolphin homebred is a Ghostzapper half sister to 2017 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) winner Enticed and is making her fourth start for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. After finishing fourth in her debut, Enliven won her second start in a 1 1/16-mile maiden race Sept. 30 at Belmont Park before her second in the Nov. 2 Tempted.
"She's doing well, so we hope she likes two turns; I think she will," McLaughlin said. "She just got her butt kicked in her last race, but that filly's not back in. She's doing very well, and I don't think the distance will be an issue. She's out of It's Tricky and (is) a half to Enticed, so it'd be nice to win a stake. We already got black type last time. Now we'd really like to win one."
Joe Bravo will ride Enliven from the rail.
Last-out maiden winner Positive Spirit will step into graded company for the first time. The daughter of Pioneerof the Nile is trained by Rodolphe Brisset for Michael Ryan and is a half sister to 2017 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands winner Always Dreaming as well as grade 1 winner Hot Dixie Chick.
After finishing third in her Sept. 2 debut at Saratoga Race Course and second a month later at Keeneland, Positive Spirit scored in her third effort Nov. 8 at Churchill Downs going one mile.
She will break from post 4 with Manny Franco aboard.
Owner/trainer Uriah St. Lewis will look to spring another upset in a graded stakes on the NYRA circuit when he sends out Afleet Destiny. Afleet Destiny broke through the maiden ranks in her fifth start going a mile Nov. 11 at Parx Racing.
"We were begging the racing office to card a two-turn race, and when she finally got it, she won," St. Lewis said. "She even played a little bit of cat and mouse with the filly she beat. She ran by her, waited on her, then pulled away again. She ran faster than the boys that day going the same distance, so we thought she was good enough to take a shot with here."
From the outside, Molto Bella will take her first shot at a graded stakes after a second-place finish in the Oct. 28 Rags to Riches Stakes at Churchill in her most recent effort. The Ian Wilkes-trained daughter of Violence broke her maiden in July at Ellis Park.
Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, December 01, 2018, Race 4Entries: Demoiselle S. (G2)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Enliven (KY)
Joe Bravo
118
Kiaran P. McLaughlin
6/5
2
2Girl of Tosconova (NY)
Junior Alvarado
118
Charlton Baker
15/1
3
3Filly Joel (FL)
Jose Lezcano
118
Rudy R. Rodriguez
7/2
4
4Positive Spirit (KY)
Manuel Franco
118
Rodolphe Brisset
6/1
5
5Jennifer's Dream (KY)
Frankie Pennington
118
John C. Servis
10/1
6
6Afleet Destiny (KY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
118
Uriah St. Lewis
15/1
7
7Molto Bella (KY)
Javier Castellano
118
Ian R. Wilkes
3/1
