The 18th Running of the G2 Princess Rooney
Saturday, July 2, 2022
GP Race #3 $250.000 7-Furlongs
Fillies and Mares 3+ 118/123 Lbs
BC Automatic Qualifier for the Filly and Mare Sprint
Track Record-1:20.66 (Omni-2005)
Stakes Record-1:21.38 (Grand Cyclone-2021)
A “Win and You’re In” race for the G1 BC Filly and Mare Sprint, the 18th running of the $250.000 G2 Princess Rooney brings a field of eight to GP on Saturday. While written for fillies and mares three-and-up, no sophomores threw their hat in the ring, so all eight will carry 123-pounds on their seven furlong journey.
The 2021 division champion, Slckmoment Laga, returns here in hopes of locking-up her spot in the gate. To earn that spot, she will have to best seven proven, quality runners that have year-end aspirations of their own. Included in that group are 2022 graded winners Kreepy Chill, Strawberry, and Lady Narloff. It’s a stacked field and the winner will, no doubt, deserve their spot in the November gate if they take this down. Let’s meet the field for the BC “Win and You’re In” G2 Princess Rooney:
#1 Dialing (Angelos Stable/S. Elliott): Breaking from the rail, this 4yo filly had three straight ITM finishes vs graded foes (including G2 win) but comes here off of two seventh-place finishes. Now, she was only beaten a length and two lengths, respectively in those G1 events and she is drawn well here to save a lot of ground from just off of the pace. That’s usually a good recipe for success and she should have every chance to strut her stuff on Saturday. Should get a square price on this classy filly. Chance.
#2 Kreepy Chill (EasyMoney Stables/R.J. Albarado): G3 victory here in March completed a three-race winning streak, but that winning cost her on the scales last time when 5th, beaten a length. 4yo doesn’t concede/get weight from anyone in here and she is drawn well to suit her rallying style. Figures to save all of the ground from the 3rd flight about 4-6 lengths back. She’ll have to pass some talented lasses if that is the choice she makes; however, it’s been a while since she drew this well and their is some speed further down her page. Interesting.
#3 Lucky Insist (Rock Creek/Al Gonzalez): Filly is a dual stakes winner, but she hasn’t beaten a field of graded runners yet. She’s bounced back-and-forth between one-turn and two-turn races, but she’s 2-for-4 at this 7-furlong trip. That should help her here as she’s shown the wheels to stay close and finish strong. This is definitely a tough assignment for everyone, but this lass may need to step up more than most. Like that she has some versatility, but others offer more appeal.
#4 Slckmoment Laga (Night Rider Stable/J.J. Castellano): The defending division champion already has a G1 this season and was only beaten a length when 5th at CD the last time we saw her. She and Strawberry have taken turns beating each other, and this only looks to add to their budding rivalry. Filly figures to sit a good trip and, if she is right, the champ doesn’t give many poor efforts. Little light on the work tab, but the feeling here is that she will be fully cranked for this encounter. Definite win contender.
#5 Juilliard (Mo Mentum Farm/P. Husbands): Filly was right in the middle of a mad dash home last time in a G3, but she was only 6th that day when beaten by three-quarters of a length for all of it. She has the 2nd fewest starts in the foeld, but she has the least amount of starts at this level, in this division. Last two efforts showed she has some speed and some heart, but this 7-furlong trip is demanding. She’s not out of the question, but going to side with others this go around.
#6 Strawberry (Mb Stables/D. Moran): Trainer sends two for this engagement and they represent the only 5yos in the field. This lass is a G1 winner already this season when she defeated a couple of these at CD. Followed that victory with a 3rd-place finish at WO in an allowance going a route of ground. Nothing lost there, as this appears to be her preferred division; however, she’ll be hard-pressed to work out any kind of trip that doesn’t see her outside of a couple rivals. Getting-in at level weights against all of these 4yos works to her advantage, but that advantage drops as the season progresses. Still, she’s one of the ones in here and would be no surprise.
#7 Lady Narloff (TwinTowersRacing/M.J. Sanchez): 4yo has hit a little bit of a spring lull after bookending her seasons with wins. Not a whole lot of information to be gleaned from the work tab, but we can assume she’s doing some good things on the farm. Filly is a win candidate every time she steps in the gate, but especially so at this elongated sprint trip. She’ll have to use all of her talent to get the right trip but that feels doable. This jock was aboard the last time she visited the winner’s circle, and this is first time riding her since. Contender.
#8 Christina G (Mb Stables/U. Rispoli): Mare has been very competitive this season with four ITM finishes (one win) from four starts. She was on the rail for this last year when she rallied to be third. She may need that same rally, but she’ll have trouble saving the ground she did last time from out here. The good news is she should be used to being parked wide and there is legitimate speed inside of her to give her something to rally into. She doesn’t win too many of these; however, she’s ran in the last two editions of the end-of-year championship, so expect another strong effort here.
Final Analysis: Eat the chalk and box the 4-6-7. This is an excellent field, but those three figure as the most likely. Good luck to everyone in the G2 Princess Rooney at GP!
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
