Zeitlos has won three stakes sprinting on dirt this year. She is winless in her two turf starts. But still, trainer Steve Asmussen said another try on the grass could be in the future for the filly, who notched her latest victory in the Open Mind Stakes last Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Zeitlos, a Stonestreet Farm homebred campaigned by that outfit and Peter Leidel, was up from last in a field of six to win the Open Mind, adding that to wins in the Carousel Stakes at Oaklawn Park and Roxelana earlier this year at Churchill Downs. The Curlin filly tried turf last year in an allowance race at Kentucky Downs and finished second after briefly rallying to seize the lead in deep stretch. In her start before the Open Mind, she was fifth in the Grade 3 Caress at Saratoga, but was beaten only a length while trying to close from last in the field of 10.
“I think that she runs extremely well,” Asmussen said. “With her being a closing sprinter, the turf sprints” – which typically have larger fields – “I think just getting her way through traffic, the dirt has worked out better. But I think she has an affinity for both surfaces.”
Asmussen also noted the filly’s pedigree. Zeitlos is out of the Redoute’s Choice mare Thyme For Roses, a Group 3 winner in her native Australia.