BY MARY EDDY, NYRA PRESS OFFICE (Edited)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY—Arindel’s Florida homebred Mythical dazzled in two stakes wins at Saratoga Race Course last summer and looks to add to her tally in Thursday’s $175,000 Jersey Girl, a six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies on second day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
A victory by Mythical would also earn Arindel as breeder a $4,000 Export Incentive check paid by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association. Capped at $1 million, the Export Incentive program pays Florida breeders on out-of-state victories in maiden special weight, allowance and stakes in 2026.
Trained by Jorge Delgado, Mythical has won seven-of-nine starts, with each victory coming by margins ranging from two-to-12 3/4 lengths. Last year, she started her career a perfect three-for-three, graduating by eight-and-a-half lengths in her April debut at Gulfstream Park and following with a victory against males at last year’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in the Listed Tremont versus males. The talented filly then posted a graded stakes victory in her first attempt, landing the Grade 3 Adirondack by three-and-a-quarter lengths going six-and-a-half-furlongs.
“We’re very happy with her and we were planning on this race since early April,” Delgado said. “This was the first stakes at six furlongs for 3-year-old fillies, so we have been planning on this race for quite a while. We’re just looking forward to being there.”
Mythical’s lone Spa blemish happened in the Grade 1 Spinaway, where she dueled for the lead in the early stages and weakened to finish fifth behind the victorious Tommy Jo. Nevertheless, she rebounded with aplomb next out when returning to restricted company at her Gulfstream Park base with open-lengths romps in the $200,000 Susan’s Girl and $300,000 My Dear Girl divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes—the latter at a mile-and-a-sixteenth—to close out her stellar juvenile campaign.
This year, the daughter of St Patrick’s Day started her campaign with an off-the-board finish in the Grade 3 Forward Gal in January but has been perfect in two starts since. She produced off-the-pace wins in the $122,000 Any Limit and $110,000 Sophomore Fillies Sprint against Florida-breds in March and April, respectively—both going six furlongs at Gulfstream.
Delgado said he was encouraged to see Mythical’s running style in her last two starts after being mainly a pacesetter last year.
“I think she can adjust,” Delgaso said. “She can go to the lead or stalking mid-pack. That’s something she didn’t have last year but we know she can do that. That’s part of being more mature and mentally stronger.”
Mythical had a three-eighths breeze on Thursday at Monmouth Park, covering the distance in :35.40, the fastest of nine at the distance that morning.
“She’s been breezing really nice. She breezed [Thursday] and came home in really good order. We’ve been doing that with her the last three times that she’s run six furlongs, [giving her] the same routine and the same workouts—a couple of halves and then a three-eighths to tighten her up a little bit and she’s responded very well,” Delgado said. “She’s just progressing and showing signs of more maturity and we’re very excited about this summer.”
Delgado added that the Jersey Girl is likely to serve as a prep for the $500,000 Test presented by Ticketmaster (G1) on August 8 at the Spa. Delgado is hopeful to make an impact at this year’s Saratoga meet, where he will have 10 stalls.
“She’s matured very, very well,” he said. “She’s very calm, very professional and pretty much all she wants to do is go to the track and train and breeze. She understands what she’s doing and she knows when she’s going to gallop, when she’s going to breeze and she’s been doing amazing. We are hoping we can compete successfully in this race and after this, point to the Test.”
Out of the winning Brethren mare Lailoni, Mythical has posted a lifetime record of seven wins in nine starts with $684,615 in earnings.
She will be piloted from the outermost post six by Edgard Zayas, who has been aboard for each of her starts this year after previous regular rider Emisael Jaramillo moved his tack to California.
Legion Racing, MHM Stables, Ed Stefanski and William Conlin’s Carmel Coast impressed in her return from a seven-month respite last out with a two-length optional claiming victory over the reopposing Paige Turner on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
Trained by Whit Beckman, the lightly-raced daughter of Omaha Beach shone bright in her career debut here in August, wiring a six-and-a-half-furlong maiden by five-and-a-half lengths. She followed with a misfire as the favorite in the Grade 1 Frizette around a one-turn mile in October at Belmont at the Big A, and did not race again until her last-out effort in pace-pressing fashion under returning rider Tyler Gaffalione from post one.
A $120,000 purchase at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale, Carmel Coast is out of the Arch mare Carmel Beauty, a full-sister to Grade 1-winning millionaire turfer and Canadian Hall of Famer Arravale.
Carmel Coast has post one.
Completing the field are Oscar Bound with Sean Bridgmohan riding, jockey Flavien Prat has the call on Goodall, Pairge Turner with Irad Ortiz Jr. up, Carol Cedeno rides Irish Jig.
Return to the May 30 issue of Wire to Wire
