Sassy C W won one of the first stakes for 2-year-old fillies in 2025. She’ll try to win one of the first stakes for 3-year-old fillies in 2026.
The $125,000 Gowell Stakes on Thursday at Turfway Park is one of three stakes on New Year’s Day for newly turned sophomores of this season, along with the open Dania Beach at a mile on turf at Gulfstream Park and the Cash Run Stakes for fillies at a mile on dirt at Gulfstream.
The Gowell, at six furlongs on the Tapeta, is the first of three sprint stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Turfway’s winter-spring meet, followed by the $125,000 Valdale at 6 1/2 furlongs on Feb. 7 and the $125,000 Serena’s Song at six furlongs on March 28.
Sassy C W is one of three stakes winners among the eight fillies entered for the Gowell. The filly won her first three starts with speed on the front end for trainer Larry Rivelli. She overcame a stumbling start to win the Astoria Stakes the first week of June at Saratoga, then added the Prairie Gold Lassie at the same 5 1/2-furlong distance the first week of July, lasting by a neck over a next-out winner.
In her only loss, Sassy C W finished fifth in an allowance race Aug. 28 on the Kentucky Downs turf, which would seem to not bode well for her first Tapeta attempt on Thursday. However, a number of factors could have played into that loss other than the surface. The filly shipped directly from her base at Hawthorne, where she breezed on the dirt, to Kentucky Downs, a course with an uphill climb into the stretch that makes the 6 1/2 furlongs play longer – and which also can take the starch out of front-runners. Sassy C W, who is coming back fresh, has been stabled at Turfway for more than a month and has posted multiple five-furlong works on Tapeta as she cuts back to six furlongs.
The other prior stakes winners in the Gowell are Map of the Moon, who has a surface advantage, and Woodstock. Kentucky-based Map of the Moon has won both her career starts on the turf, defeating next-out winners in both for Kelsey Danner. Most recently, she came from sixth to win the Stewart Manor on Nov. 7 at Aqueduct, getting up by three-quarters of a length. A strong pace up front, with several appearing likely to prompt Sassy C W, would set up well for her.
Woodstock was fifth in a Kentucky Downs allowance in her only turf try for Mike Maker. Since then, she has been sprinting on the dirt, parlaying a close stalking trip into a 10 1/2-length victory in the E.L. Gaylord Memorial at Remington; finishing third in the Myrtlewood at Keeneland; and finishing sixth in the Fern Creek at Churchill Downs.
Other speed influences in this race could include Gianna, coming off a maiden win on the Churchill turf; Pure Eloquence, making her first start since a debut win in June on the Gulfstream turf; and Folk Song, re-appearing after a debut win in April.
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