BY MONMOUTH PARK PRESS OFFICE (Edited)
OCEANPORT, NJ—Gerrards Cross hasn’t returned to the winner’s circle since starting her career two-for-two last year, including a victory in the $112,000 Colleen Stakes at Monmouth Park. But trainer Kathleen O’Connell feels it’s only a matter of time before that changes.
Coming off a sharp, near-miss second-place finish to Hark Theangelssing in the $100,000 Stormy Blues at Laurel Park on June 14 following a six-month layoff, the Florida-bred daughter of Midshipman is back at Monmouth Park for Sunday’s $100,000 Monmouth County Stakes, a five-and-a-half-furlong turf sprint for seven 3-year-old fillies.
A victory in the Monmouth County for Gerrards Cross would earn breeder James Michael Chicklo of Ocala a $4,000 Export Incentive paid by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association. Chicklo also owns Gerrards Cross.
“I was very pleased with her last race off the layoff,” O’Connell said. “I think that was one of her better races. She is getting older and stronger and developing more.”
Of Gerrards Crossing’s five career starts, four have been in stakes. Her two best efforts have been her only two grasses races with the Colleen being one and the Stormy Blues the other. O’Connell would have preferred to take a different route with Gerrards Cross after she won the Colleen but said she simply had limited options.
She ran Gerrards Cross in two dirt stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, first in the $102,000 Sandpiper at six furlongs on December 6 when she finished seventh; and the was sixth in the $102,000 Gasparilla going seven furlongs on January 10.
Then O’Connell was able to get her back sprinting on the grass and the difference was noticeable in her neck loss in the Stormy Blues.
“As much as everyone would like these fillies to go longer some of them don’t,” said O’Connell, the second-winningest female trainer in North American history (to Linda Rice) with 2,652 wins through Thursday. “We tried with her for [Mr. Chicklo] and that didn’t pan out.
“We gave her some time, freshened her up, brought her back and now she is raining gangbusters. I couldn’t be happier with the way she has been training.”
O’Connell, who has 35 horses stabled at Monmouth Park, said there was simply nowhere to go for Gerrards Cross after the Colleen except for the two dirt stakes at Tampa.
“The problem when you win early on is there is no allowance race for fillies that goes,” she said. “You either run in a stakes race or you don’t run at all. So even though I didn’t want to run her back on the dirt and I didn’t want to run her long, we tried it because that was all we had as options. We figured if we were going to try that with her it would be early.”
O’Connell said she sees a slight comparison to Lady Shipman, who won $902,387 and was second in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
“I always felt the biggest attribute of Lady Shipman was her mind,” O’Connell said. “She didn’t care about anything. She was awesome going place to place to race. This filly is in a similar mold to her. We’ll find out how good she is. But at least she has a decent mind and wants to do it.”
O’Connell knows the family of Gerrards Cross well. She trained the mare, Florida-bred Spanish Concert, by Concerto; and trains a half-sister to Gerrads Cross, Spanish Noble, who won at Monmouth Park on June 28.
Gerrards Cross is 4-1 on the morning and will be ridden by Cipriano Gil from post four.
The field includes Spinelli with Rajiv Maragh riding, Carolyncaroline and jockey Martin Chuan, Abner Adorno will guide Tap Into Grace, Florida-bred Niche and rider Luis Rivera Jr., no rider has been named on Dancewithdestiny, Echo Juliet with Julio Hernandez up and Jose Gomez has the call on Victory Music. Quality of Essence is entered under main track only conditions.
Return to the July 3 issue of Wire to Wire
