By Alan Carasso
It has been an outstanding year for well-respected owner Tracy Farmer, whose Shadowlawn Farm sits about 10 miles northwest of Keeneland Race Course in nearby Midway. The native Kentuckian has won with roughly 17% of his runners in 2019 and was represented by his first Classic winner when Sir Winston (Awesome Again) took out this year's GI Belmont S. Perfect Alibi (Sky Mesa) provided him with a second top-level success in the GI Spinaway S. last month and the dark bay filly will look to add to that tally in Friday's GI Darley Alcibiades S., a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in four weeks' time.
A $220,000 graduate of last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, Perfect Alibi dusted Churchill maidens by 9 1/2 lengths on her May 16 debut but ran in spots and could do no better than second as the 5-4 favorite when making her stakes debut in Belmont's Astoria S. June 6. Atoning for that effort with a 13-2 upset of the GII Adirondack S. at Saratoga Aug. 4, she backed it up with a 1 1/4-length success in the Spinaway, sticking on very gamely while pinned down along the inside.
The 5-2 favorite on the morning line, Perfect Alibi will try to give trainer Mark Casse a fourth Alcibiades victory since 2012.
British Idiom (Flashback) has but one start under her belt, but a very promising one it was, as she sat handy to the pace in an Aug. 15 Saratoga restricted maiden over six furlongs and finished full of run to best next-out maiden romper Miss Marissa (He's Had Enough) by 3 1/2 solid lengths. In receipt of first-time Lasix Friday, she has since recorded five breezes at Churchill and she should see out this first two-turn test.
Godolphin's Micheline (Bernardini) ran on to be third to the very impressive Morning Gold (Morning Line) in a 1 1/16-mile turf maiden at Saratoga Aug. 11 before breaking her maiden in style in the Sept. 1 Sorority S. at Monmouth Park. The bay is the lone member of this field with a victory at two turns and her dam was a Grade I winner on turf and synthetic and winner of the GII Black-Eyed Susan S. on the main track.
Gone Glimmering (Tapiture) has some longshot appeal from gate one. A four-length debut winner going 5 1/2 panels at Indiana Grand Aug. 2, the $62,000 Keeneland September purchase missed the break slightly in a non-two-lifetime allowance at the same track Sept. 6 and was checked hard a half-mile out, but picked herself up off the canvas and rolled home late to score by 2 1/2 lengths. The half-sister to GSP router Sheer Flattery (Flatter) will need to pick up her feet some to be a factor, but the Alcibiades can toss up a longshot winner and just five runnings since 2000 have been won by the post-time favorite.
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