Ria Antonia gave her connections a workable and usable gauge to determine just how well she was doing in the days leading up to last year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park.
The gauge came in the form of a strong workout a week before the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies – a race Ria Antonia won via disqualification of eventual champion 2-year-old filly She’s a Tiger. Ria Antonia worked brilliantly that morning, letting her long stride carry her nearly 17-hand frame around the Santa Anita main track in a shade over 46 seconds for a half-mile.
Ria Antonia started sending similar signals earlier this week, breezing a sharp half-mile with an even better gallop out, and Chris Englehart likes what he sees from the Rockport Harbor filly heading into Saturday’s Grade 3 Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds. He’s seen her last three works and Sunday’s move in :47, the best of 95 at the distance, reminded him of the one under the San Gabriels.
“The first breeze I saw from her was good,” said Englehart, referring to a 5-furlong move Feb. 2. “The second breeze was good. The last breeze though, I would say was very good. Similar to the way she worked the week before [the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies] at Santa Anita.”
Englehart described that Santa Anita work as “one of the best breezes I’ve ever seen.” Ria Antonia moved forward from that work and made a menacing move in the stretch of the Juvenile Fillies before she was cut off in deep stretch by She’s a Tiger and initially denied victory. Stewards made a change, only the second time for the win in Breeders’ Cup history.
Ria Antonia wasn’t awarded the subsequent 2-year-old filly championship that went to 25 of the first 29 winners of the Juvenile Fillies and finished third in the voting behind She’s a Tiger and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Chriselliam. Ria Antonia got 30 days off, returned to training in late 2013, lost some time at Belmont Park and then a little once she got to Louisiana in January.
Elizabeth Dobles, Englehart’s assistant the last four years and Ria Antonia’s regular exercise rider, has been the eyes and ears of her boss in between his trips back and forth from New York to Louisiana.
“She’s worked for me for four years and she knows exactly how I want the horses,” Englehart said. “How they should train. What to do as far as using equipment to try and help them and fix them and stuff like that.
“When we sent [Ria Antonia] down, I just told her, ‘Remember where she was when she won the race at Santa Anita.’ She was training phenomenal. Every day was an A-plus-plus day for her. And her breeze was one of the best breezes I’ve ever seen. We used that as a gauge. Gradually we’re kind of getting back there. I’m a lot happier where she is now than I was two weeks ago and even last week, too.”
Ria Antonia will certainly need a good performance in the Rachel Alexandra if she’s to take the next step, one option being quite ambitious and the other logical yet still difficult. She meets six opponents in the 1 1/16-mile Rachel Alexandra, one of four graded stakes on the card highlighted by the Grade 2 Risen Star.
The field also includes Streaming, winner of the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet and runner-up last time in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes who is in from Southern California, Got Lucky from Todd Pletcher’s Florida base at Palm Meadows and Untapable from Steve Asmussen’s string at Fair Grounds.
“She ultimately might need a race, but that being said I’m not saying she probably couldn’t win,” Englehart said. “She’s still going to move forward this year. I really believe that.”
A move forward might mean a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Oaks and Ria Antonia has secured 10 points toward realizing that goal. The Rachel Alexandra offers 50-20-10-5 points to the first four finishers, so a good effort will virtually lock up a spot.
Ria Antonia’s owners Ron Paolucci and Chris Dunn indicated earlier this year that they’d like to consider the filly for the May 3 Kentucky Derby. She would most likely need points from other Road to the Kentucky Derby preps – against males – with the annual reality of a full field of 20 looming again in 2014.
“She would have to run really well in this race, where we were confident we can run her against the boys next because she’s got no points,” Englehart said. “Obviously with the Derby you’re going to need points. If she ran well I would definitely say [the Louisiana Derby], we might take a shot, especially if we earn some points tomorrow toward the filly race and we’re secured at least a spot in the Oaks. I would say right now if I had to put a percentage on it I would say 70 percent filly and 30 percent boys. Maybe 80-20.”
A big field of 3-year-olds with similar aspirations for Churchill Downs later this spring was entered in the $400,000 Risen Star at the same 1 1/16-mile distance. Lecomte winner Vicar’s in Trouble from the Ramsey juggernaut leads the field but will be forced to break from post 13 in the field of 14 left following the scratch of Bond Holder. Kentucky shipper Emmett Park drew into the race with the scratch of Bond Holder and the also-eligible list still contains Teniente Coronel. Others in the field include Delta Downs Jackpot winner Rise Up for trainer Tom Amoss, Lecomte runner-up Albano for trainer Larry Jones, Gold Hawk for Asmussen and Intense Holiday for Pletcher.
The other graded races on Saturday’s Fair Grounds card are the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Handicap and the Grade 3 Mineshaft Handicap.
Watch Ria Antonia and She’s a Tiger in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Equibase entries for Saturday at Fair Grounds.
