Ultimate Love continues to impress after a stylish four-length victory in the Selima Stakes at Laurel Park, positioning the undefeated filly as an intriguing candidate for the GI Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar.
The chestnut daughter of Curlin has won her three starts by a combined 13 1/4 lengths for trainer Michael Trombetta and owner Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation.
“She might be a good one,” Trombetta told Laurel officials as the filly cooled out following her dominant performance in the $125,000 ungraded stakes.
Ultimate Love broke alertly in the 1 1/16-mile contest before settling into fourth position. Jockey Jorge Ruiz guided her through a confident trip, incrementally closing ground on the far turn before unleashing a decisive move in mid-stretch that required minimal encouragement.
Her final time of 1:43.58 was .85 seconds faster than the 2-year-old males ran in the same-distance Laurel Futurity Stakes a half-hour earlier — also won by Ruiz.
The filly’s pedigree supports her potential. Her second dam is My Typhoon (Ire), a Grade I-winning turf mare in North America who is a half-sister to champions Galileo (Ire) and Sea The Stars (Ire). Live Oak paid a sales-topping $2.9 million for My Typhoon at the 2002 Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
“Very laid back,” Trombetta described his charge, who is the sixth foal but first stakes winner out of the Bernardini mare Tsunami of Love. “I told [Ruiz] in the paddock today that you have a good post. Hopefully, you can find a good spot that you like, and he did a good job of it.”
The Selima has proven a productive stepping stone to Breeders’ Cup success. Graham Motion-trained Sharing captured the 2019 Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita after winning at Laurel.
“Those thoughts crossed my mind as she crossed the finish line,” Trombetta said of the Oct. 31 Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar, though he noted a start would require cutting back to a mile.
“Curlin will get you dirt. The dam side is more turf,” Trombetta added. “What I like about this filly is that I think she’s going to be a mile-and-an-eighth, mile-and-a-quarter type of filly.”
Mystik Dan Delivers in Lukas Classic
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) delivered a dramatic stretch rally to capture the GII D. Wayne Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs, honoring the recently deceased Hall-of-Fame trainer.
The victory came with Francisco Arrieta substituting for regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr., who remains hospitalized after a Churchill spill that broke seven ribs and punctured a lung.
Trainer Ken McPeek indicated he’s leaning toward the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile for Mystik Dan’s next start, though he hasn’t entirely ruled out the GI Classic.
“It’s tough. Brian helped this horse get here,” McPeek said in a video interview posted by the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. “He really deserved to be on him today, and he deserves to be on him next time, too. But, you know, in the meantime, Francisco Arrieta did a fantastic job.”
McPeek praised Mystik Dan’s ability to overcome traffic trouble. “He had every reason to get beat. It got tight. He got locked in there. It looked like he wasn’t going to get through. But that shows the kind of turn of foot he’s got.”
With Saturday’s victory, Mystik Dan accomplished something no other Derby winner has done in more than two decades: win at least two races at age four. Funny Cide, the 2003 Derby winner, was the last to achieve this feat with a 3-2-3 record in 10 starts during his 4-year-old campaign.
Mystik Dan’s nine-furlong victory earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure, one point higher than his victory in the GIII Blame Stakes earlier this year.
At Aqueduct, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Locked (Gun Runner) received a 98 Beyer for his win in the three-horse GII Woodward Stakes. The victory solidified his position as a contender for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
At Santa Anita, Nevada Beach (Omaha Beach) scored in the GI Goodwood Stakes with a 101 Beyer, while runner-up Full Serrano (Arg) (Full Mast) earned a 98. Nevada Beach will target the Classic, while Full Serrano appears headed for the Dirt Mile.
