Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has wanted to try Soul of an Angel at seven furlongs from the time she joined his barn via a private purchase earlier this year. He finally gets that opportunity Saturday at Gulfsteam Park when sending Soul of an Angel out with an eye toward a potential start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in the $220,000 Princess Rooney Invitational, the main event on the track’s spring-summer stakes schedule.
The Grade 3 Princess Rooney is part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In Challenge Series and will award the winner a fees-paid berth into the Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. The field of 10 includes Beth’s Dream, who could vie for favoritism with Soul of an Angel and comes into the race sporting a four-race win streak that includes a one-sided victory in the Sheer Drama Stakes four weeks earlier.
Soul of an Angel returned quick dividends for her new connections, the partnership of C2 Racing and Agave Racing, after winning the Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes going a mile at Aqueduct when making her first start for Joseph on May 4. After finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps, Soul of an Angel turned in arguably the best performance of her career when extending BC Distaff winner and champion Idiomatic before dropping a head decision in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park.
She returns to South Florida on Saturday off a distant third-place finish behind Raging Sea going 1 1/8 miles in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga.
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“Ideally, she wants a one-turn mile, but we’ve wanted to try her at seven furlongs right from the start with the Filly and Mare Sprint as a possible option, but she ran so well at Monmouth it was hard to cut her back after that,” Joseph said. “Obviously, seven furlongs is a bit of a question, whether it might be too short for her, although in my opinion I don’t think it will be.”
Officially, Soul of an Angel is winless in 10 tries over the main track at Gulfstream, although that’s not an issue for Joseph.
“She finished first with a very impressive effort in an allowance race here last year for her previous connections but had the purse taken away due to a positive test,” Joseph said. “We actually started to look into purchasing her off that effort.
“She was also second in the Royal Delta, so she’s shown she can handle this track just fine. My main concern is shipping her back into the heat in South Florida after she’s been up north at Saratoga all summer.”
Soul of an Angel will be joined in the Princess Rooney by stablemate Imonra, who finished a tiring fourth after contesting the early pace in the Sheer Drama.
Beth’s Dream is perfect in four starts since returning from a seven-month hiatus to capture a one-mile allowance race at Gulfstream to launch her 2024 campaign in mid-March. She capped the streak with an easy four-length victory when turning back to seven panels for the first time in the Sheer Drama.
The win was the eighth in 10 tries over her home course. Beth’s Dream’s career has been managed carefully and very astutely to this point by trainer Victor Barboza Jr.
“She’s been magnificent since she’s come back to us this year,” said Barboza, who has finished second twice in the Princess Rooney, with Distinta in 2017 and the following year with Rich Mommy. “For me, she is much better at a one-turn mile. We used the Sheer Drama to check on her moving to seven furlongs and she was very impressive to me, the way she finished, the way she ran.”
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Maryquitecontrary finished a late-running second, beaten just a half-length, by Joseph’s Three Witches as the 7-5 favorite in the 2023 Princess Rooney. She was no match for Beth’s Dream when rallying to be a non-threatening second in the Sheer Drama.
Although winless in five starts this season, Maryquitecontrary has hit the board in four of those outings, including a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Royal Delta.
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