Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will wield a powerful hand while seeking his third consecutive victory in the Grade 3 Princess Rooney on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The track’s perennial leading trainer will run three of the seven likely starters in the seven-furlong Rooney, which is the lone Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series event to be decided Gulfstream in 2025.
The Princess Rooney has certainly exceeded expectations over the past four seasons, having produced two Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winners in Ce Ce in 2021 and Soul of an Angel last season, as well as third-place finisher Three Witches in 2023. Both Soul of an Angel and Three Witches were trained by Joseph, who this year will run Haulin Ice, Claret Beret, and Ultimate Authority. Joseph also entered Mystic Lake, who he said would compete instead the same afternoon at Parx Racing in the $150,000 Liberty Bell Stakes.
The remainder of the field includes Vincey Girl, Nerazurri, Reputation, and Gallop d’Hermes.
With Mystic Lake out, Haulin Ice will likely go postward as the favorite in the Princess Rooney, despite the fact she was soundly defeated by Vincey Girl as the prohibitive favorite here last month in the Sheer Drama Stakes.
“This has been a great race for the Breeders’ Cup over the past four or five years, but it is a different group of horses this season,” Joseph said. “Last time, I thought Haulin Ice was really up against it carrying 127 pounds in a handicap while giving seven pounds to the winner. This time, it’s a five-pound turnaround in her favor.”
Haulin Ice’s setback in the Sheer Drama snapped a four-race winning streak, all in stakes, dating back to March 1 that included a game victory in the Grade 3 Vagrancy at Aqueduct. The key question for Haulin Ice in the rematch with Vincey Girl is the distance, as she has registered just a single victory in five starts at seven furlongs.
Claret Beret, purchased privately by Miller Racing LLC earlier this season, was a major disappointment stepping up to Grade 1 competition for the first time four weeks ago in the Ballerina at Saratoga, finishing a distant sixth after prompting the pace into the stretch. In her previous start, Claret Beret finished second, beaten less than a length by Grade 1 winner Vahva, in the Grade 2 Chicago Stakes at Churchill Downs.
“It was surprising how poorly she ran at Saratoga, considering her first two starts for us were so promising. We really can’t come up with any real excuse,” Joseph admitted. “Hopefully, she will rebound this time, and if she runs back to her best race, she’s definitely good enough to win it.”
Ultimate Authority also was privately purchased by Miller Racing during the spring but has not started since finishing a distant third for her previous connections in the Grade 2 Santa Maria going 1 1/16 miles on April 19 at Santa Anita.
“She missed a little time since we got her and she’s been training well,” Joseph said. “On figures, she stands a good chance, although from a fitness standpoint she might need a race.”
Vincey Girl comes off far and away the best race of her career, rallying from a half-dozen lengths off the pace to readily roll by Haulin Ice in the seven-furlong Sheer Drama, earning a career-topping 88 Beyer Speed Figure. It was the first stakes win for the 4-year-old daughter of Race Day, who is trained by Jose D’Angelo.
“She’s a closer and in her last race she got lucky because there was a lot of speed,” D’Angelo said. “Hopefully, that will be the case again Saturday. She’s doing great. She has to get out of the one-hole and get position to make her move. Hopefully, she can win and we can have a very strong squad for the Breeders’ Cup this year.”
D’Angelo also was happy when informed Mystic Lake would not be running in the Princess Rooney.
“One less horse in the race is always good for us,” D’Angelo said. “Especially that one.”
Reputation and Nerazurri are the only 3-year-olds in the lineup. Reputation brings a modest two-race winning streak into the Princess Rooney but will be facing older horses for the first time. Nerazurri finished a distant third in the Sheer Drama and has now been stakes-placed in each of her last two starts.
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