Sandal’s Song, who received an automatic berth in one of the six juvenile races at the Royal Ascot meet by virtue of his decisive victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes on May 10 at Gulfstream Park, departed for England on Sunday along with stablemate Tough Critic. Both horses are trained by George Weaver.
Sandal’s Song will compete in the five-furlong Norfolk Stakes on June 19. Tough Critic, who won his only previous start on turf at Keeneland, will run one day earlier in the Windsor Castle Stakes.
Weaver had a minor setback with Sandal’s Song following his arrival at Saratoga that forced him to postpone his work a couple of days, although he reportedly was doing well at the time of his departure.
“He ran well at Gulfstream, we gave him a little time to get over the race, we got a little breeze into him, and he worked well,” Weaver said. “We’ll probably let him do a little something over the synthetic track once he gets over there. He’s a very talented horse. He’s fast. He could wind up being a Grade 1 sprinter. That wouldn’t surprise me at all. And he might even go further.”
Weaver will be looking for his second victory in the last three years at Ascot. He captured the Group 2 Queen Mary in 2023 with Crimson Advocate after she also earned an automatic berth by virtue of her victory in the inaugural running of the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies earlier that spring at Gulfstream.
“Going back a second time makes things a little easier for us because now we’ve got the lay of the land, so to speak,” Weaver said. “It’s quite expensive to make this kind of trip for the owners. The $25,000 they received in travel expenses for winning the race at Gulfstream probably covers only half that expense, but it’s really exciting to go. You can’t blame them for wanting to try. It’s definitely a great experience.”
The undefeated 2-year-old filly Lennilu, who will join Sandal’s Song at Ascot by virtue of her impressive victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, breezed four furlongs in 50.25 seconds at Palm Meadows on Sunday in preparation for her upcoming start in the Queen Mary on June 18. Lennilu, who is trained by Patrick Biancone, is perfect in two starts, having won a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race on the dirt on April 6 at Keeneland. She was scheduled to ship across the pond Tuesday.
“She’s perfect. I am very happy with her. She’s ready to go,” Biancone told the Gulfstream Park publicity office following Lennilu’s latest work.
Fulminate back on the turf
Travel Happy and Greenfield Cougar – who finished second and third, respectively, just a length apart, in their previous meeting – will renew acquaintances when topping a field of eight Florida-bred fillies and mares slated to go five furlongs on the turf in Thursday’s $43,000 allowance headliner.
Travel Happy and Greenfield Cougar chased home the 3-2 favorite Happy Ride under similar conditions May 15, with Happy Ride leading at every call before registering a three-quarter-length decision over the firm course. Travel Happy pressed the pace from the outset but could not gain appreciably on the winner down the lane, while Greenfield Cougar rallied mildly after getting knocked around briefly after the start.
David’s Rose, who won this condition as a 34-1 outsider in her 2024 finale, is among the other key contenders, along with the speedy Fulminate. A stablemate of Happy Ride from the barn of Laura Cazares, Fulminate is a five-time winner on turf and could prove the one to catch returning to her preferred surface Thursday.
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