Curalina Under Consideration for Breeders’ Cup Filly-Mare Sprint, Distaff
Curalina, the three-time Grade 1-winning stakes filly, will be pre-entered in both the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, said Aron Wellman, president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which owns the filly.
By: David Grening
Curalina, the three-time Grade 1-winning stakes filly, will be pre-entered in both the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, said Aron Wellman, president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which owns the filly.
Curalina won her maiden at the Filly and Mare Sprint distance of seven furlongs and won the Grade 1 Acorn, a one-turn mile, as a 3-year-old.
Curalina is also a multiple graded stakes winner at the Distaff distance of 1 1/8 miles.
The Distaff is coming up an extremely tough race, with champions Beholder, Stellar Wind, and Songbird pointing to that race as well as Cavorting and Forever Unbridled.
The Filly and Mare Sprint appears to be a more wide-open race, with New York-bred Haveyougoneaway and 3-year-olds Carina Mia and Cathryn Sophia among the leading candidates.
“The Filly and Mare Sprint is in play, as is the Distaff,” Wellman said Friday. “Todd [Pletcher] is preparing her for either of those races at the moment. We’ll keep an eye on both spots and try to make the most prudent decision to give her the best chance of winning.”
On Friday, Curalina breezed a half-mile in 49.25 seconds over the Belmont Park training track.
“Just a maintenance, steady-type half that she did well within herself, looked good,” Pletcher said. “We’ll start to pick it up a little more next week.”
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