Last season's GIII Go For Wand winner, Highway Star (Girolamo) kicked off the season with a fourth in the Jan. 13 Ladies H. at Aqueduct before reeling off a pair of wins in that track's GIII Distaff H. Apr. 9 followed by the GII Ruffian here May 13. An even third in the June 10 GI Ogden Phipps, she came up a head short of the win last time in the seven-furlong GI Ballerina at Saratoga Aug. 26. Arguably the class of the field, Carina Mia (Malibu Moon) spent much of the past year knocking heads in Grade I company, chief among her competitors, champion Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro). Victorious in the one-mile GI Acorn in Elmont last term, Carina Mia hit the board in three subsequent starts for trainer Bill Mott, including a runner-up effort behind Songbird in the GI Cotillion at Parx in September. Concluding her sophomore campaign with a ninth in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint Nov. 5, she kicked off the 2017 season with a third in a sloppy renewal of Churchill's GI Humana Distaff May 6. In her final start for Mott, she came home fourth in the Ogden Phipps. Favored ahead of a score for her new trainer Chad Brown in the Aug. 2 Shine Again at the Spa, Carina Mia found herself only a length short of the win in third in the Ballerina. Javier Castellano, aboard for the two latest, gets back aboard this time. Lucy N Ethel (During), winner of the GIII Old Hat S. at three, added a victory in the GII Prioress before rounding out the season with a 12th in the GII Raven Run S. last October. Now under the care of Todd Pletcher, the front-running four-year-old gets the services of Hall of Famer John Velazquez.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
