OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Five Bars may not have run particularly fast when she won her debut, but she was quite impressive nonetheless.
At least she was impressive enough for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey to run her back in Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette Stakes for 2-year-old fillies going one mile at Aqueduct. McGaughey does know what a Frizette winner looks like, having trained five of them starting with Personal Ensign in 1986.
Five Bars overcame a lot to win at first asking. Under Joel Rosario, Five Bars got slammed from both sides leaving the gate in her debut going six furlongs Aug. 23 at Saratoga. She was last of seven, navigated her way through some traffic, and outfinished Icecreamforevryone to win by three-quarters of a length.
“I was disappointed the way she broke. I was pleased with the way Joel let her get her feet under her and was patient instead of rushing her off her feet and let her finish,” McGaughey said. “She had trained well, so I thought she’d run well.”
The race registered only a 60 on the Beyer Speed Figure scale, among the lowest achieved by members of this field. McGaughey trains Five Bars for Stuart Janney III and said he was under no pressure to run Five Bars back in the Frizette.
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“If I wasn’t pleased with the way she was doing I’d have waited for the Tempted,” McGaughey said, referring to a one-mile listed stakes here Oct. 31.
Rosario is committed to ride Iron Orchard for Danny Gargan, so Manny Franco will ride Five Bars.
Iron Orchard has been a front-running winner of two races for New York-breds, including the Seeking the Ante Stakes. There figures to be other speed types in here, though one of those – Secane – will scratch after getting colicky when she arrived here from South Florida, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Thursday.
Joseph will still run Jetty’s Home and Rileytole, the latter coming off a third-place finish behind Tommy Jo in the Grade 1 Spinaway.
Todd Pletcher, who has won the Frizette four times, sends out three, including the aforementioned Icecreamforevryone, Steer Clear, and Lovely Christina.
Pletcher said he and owner Mike Repole are treating Icecreamforevryone’s narrow defeat to Five Bars like a win and the Frizette is where the filly would have run had she won.
Steer Clear, second in her debut, came back to win a maiden race by 1 3/4 lengths on Aug. 31.
“Interested to see how she handles the stretch-out,” Pletcher said. “She’s got natural speed . . . I think she’s naturally going to place herself forward, though she’s not one who has to be on the lead to be successful.”
Lovely Christina finished second, 5 1/2 lengths behind Carmel Coast, in an Aug. 10 race and then came back to win a six-furlong maiden race on Aug. 31 by 1 3/4 lengths.
Carmel Coast “went to the front and never came back to us,” Pletcher said. “She ran well and came back and ran a little bit better. She should handle the stretch-out, hopefully settles into a good spot.”
Steer Clear and Lovely Christina will break from posts 10 and 11, respectively.
Carmel Coast earned a field-best 86 Beyer when she won her debut Aug. 10 at Saratoga. Trainer Whit Beckman opted to simply train her up to the Frizette.
“She was super professional on debut, and that’s not really changed,” Beckman said. “She brought herself here the right way. When Kendrick [Carmouche] was working her prior to her first start he was like ‘This filly wants to go long.’ I think she’s going to be fine going a mile.”
Chopsticks, trained by Brad Cox, is 2 for 2, having won a maiden at Churchill Downs and the Ellis Park Debutante. Rina’s Revenge won a New York-bred maiden race for trainer Kenny McPeek.
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