BY BROCK SHERIDAN
A two-time winner in three races on the Gulfstream Park grass with a second in the Ginger Brew Stakes, Green With MV Stable and trainer Patrick Biancone’s Laigina next goes in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies going a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs.
The Florida-bred daughter of Leinster excelled when Biancone switched her to grass for her third start, a three-and-a-quarter-length victory in a $50,000 optional claiming maiden race for fillies going seven-and-a-half furlongs on December 4. She graduated into stakes company for her next test on January 3, finishing second to multiple stakes-winner and now graded stakes-placed Sister Troienne in the $155,000 Ginger Brew (Listed) at a mile on the turf. In one race since against Florida-bred allowance fillies going a mile on the turf on February 7, Laigina was superior in winning by four lengths.
Laigina has earned $94,520 from two wins and a second in five lifetime starts. She is out of Patriotic Brother, by Brother Derek and was bred in Florida by Diamond 100 racing Club.
Junior Alvarado, who has ridden her in her last two races, gets the return mount and they have the outside post in the field of 11.
Laigina is the second choice in the program with 7-2 odds.
Favored at 5-2 is Time to Dream, who makes her first start as a 3-year-old.
In her first two starts, both on the inner turf at Saratoga Race Course, she broke her maiden going a mile in July then won the $150,000 P. G. Johnson Stakes presented by Snap-On (Listed) at a mile-and-a-sixteenth in August. She was then third in the Grade 2 Jessamine presented by Keeneland Sales on the Keeneland grass in October and finished out her 2-year-old season on October 31 with an off-the-board result in the $920,000 John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) at Del Mar.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Time to Dream is by Not This Time out of the Street Sense mare Wild Silk and has earned $184,500 in her four starts.
Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Time to Dream from post seven.
Other fillies set for the Florida Oaks are Backgammon with Javier Castellano in the saddle, Alone Time will be ridden by Samy Camacho, Abigail and jockey Samuel Marin, Bossy Candy will have Sonny Leon up, Flavien Prat has the call on Dandona, Joel Rosario takes the assignment on Special Wood (Fr), Courageous Diane has Joseph Trejos named to ride, Kokomotion will have John Velazquez up and Jarreth Loveberry takes the reins on Bramble Blast.
Return to March 6 issue of Wire to Wire
