By Steve Sherack
UNIQUE BELLA BACK JOGGING AT DEL MAR
Before Abel Tasman (Quality Road) took a complete stranglehold of the 3-year-old filly division with a three-race Grade I winning streak, there was 'TDN Rising Star' Unique Bella (Tapit).
Breathtaking in four consecutive scores, including a 2 1/4-length tally over the aforementioned current head of the class when last seen in the GIII Santa Ysabel S. Mar. 4 (video), Unique Bella was forced to sit out both the GI Santa Anita Oaks and GI Kentucky Oaks with a sore shin.
The gray is back jogging for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer at Del Mar and should begin galloping by the end of the month, according to Fernando Diaz-Valdes, racing manager and advisor for owner Don Alberto Stable.
“She's doing fine now–she's a big and powerful filly,” Diaz-Valdes said. “It was her left shin that was bothering her. We had to be careful and wanted to make sure that it healed properly. She's just trotting now and has been very active for the last month.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, we missed some very important races, but as you know, that is this game. It's difficult, but sometimes you have to deal with disappointment.”
If all goes according to plan upon resuming serious training, Unique Bella will target the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar this fall.
“We'd love to see her race by the end of September going six or six-and-half furlongs and go directly to seven furlongs for the Breeders' Cup,” Diaz-Valdes said. “But that would be a dream come true, let's put it that way. Hopefully, everything will go in that direction. She's doing great though, there's no question about that.”
Unique Bella, a daughter of 2010 GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic heroine Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), brought $400,000 as a KEESEP yearling. The GII Santa Ynzez S. and GII Las Virgenes S. heroine was bred in Pennsylvania by Brushwood Stable.
MORE TIME OFF FOR ONE LINER
Unbeaten 3-year-old One Liner (Into Mischief), sidelined this spring after making it a perfect three-for-three in an impressive performance in the GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Feb. 20 (video), won't see action again until next year.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, the $150,000 KEEJAN short yearling is campaigned in partnership by WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club and SF Racing LLC.
“One Liner is still on the shelf–we had to give him another 30 days,” WinStar Farm President/CEO and Racing Manager Elliott Walden said. “We sent him to Dr. [Larry] Bramlage–he had some bone bruising–and he recommended another 30 days on the farm. He's not going to run again this year. But he should be able to go back into training sometime in late August and get ready for the start of the year.”
A debut winner at the Spa last summer over subsequent GI Hopeful S. two-three Royal Copy (Bodemeister) and Pretty Boy Flash (Gone Astray), One Liner resurfaced with a win in a six-furlong Gulfstream allowance optional claimer Jan. 26. He earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure while making his aforementioned two-turn bow in Hot Springs.
One Liner, bred in Kentucky by Kingswood Farm, is the first foal out of the winning Cherokee Run mare Cayala. This is also the extended female family of GISWs Albertus Maximus (Albert the Great) and Daredevil (More Than Ready).
“He's very talented,” Walden said. “Instead of rushing him back, we decided to give him all the time he needed and get him ready for his 4-year-old year.”
NEOLITHIC NEARING WOODWARD PREP
Freshened since consecutive third-place finishes behind the mighty 'TDN Rising Star' Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Jan. 28 and G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 25, Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday) is nearing a return to the races.
The Starlight Racing and Qatar Racing colorbearer has posted four workouts for trainer Todd Pletcher at Saratoga since late June, most recently firing a five-furlong bullet in 1:00.10 (1/8) July 23.
“He had a pretty good work last time,” Starlight head Jack Wolf said. “I heard back from Todd and he thought that he breezed much better than he did the previous time. We'll probably be looking for a race somewhere in the first part of August, and hopefully that will set him up for the [GI] Woodward [S. at Saratoga Sept. 2].”
The progressive 4-year-old was also runner-up in a quickly run renewal of the GIII Discovery S. at Aqueduct last November and an impressive runaway winner of a Gulfstream allowance the following month. He returned from his trip to the Middle East with a respiratory illness.
“He had a rough flight back home,” Wolf said. “We've been over there three times and the first two that went over came back and raced in a relatively short period of time. But Neolithic needed some time off. He appears to have put back on all of his weight and he's carrying plenty of flesh now and looking good.”
Produced by three-time stakes-winning mare Swingit (Victory Gallop), the $460,000 KEESEP yearling was bred in Kentucky by Edwin Anthony.
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