Sunday Girl set for Sunday’s $125K Correction
Mitre Box Stable, Clear Stars Stable and Eighth Note Stable’s New York-bred Sunday Girl is a top contender versus open company in Sunday’s $125,000 Correction, a six-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by David Duggan, the 4-year-old Central Banker chestnut enters from two stalking victories in open company here, taking a 6 1/2-furlong allowance on December 27 and a six-furlong optional claimer last out on February 1. Both scores came under returning rider Katie Davis and earned a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure.
“Those were great stepping stones and she passed each test. She warrants a chance to take a shot in this,” said Duggan. “We are getting into deeper waters now. It is an acid test and we’ll see.”
Before her December allowance win, Sunday Girl had made all five career starts in New York-bred or New York-sired company, highlighted by a three-length score in the local 6 1/2-furlong NYSSS Park Avenue in April. Her 7-5-1-0 record also features a second in the seven-furlong NYSSS Staten Island in November here.
Both of Sunday Girl’s losses came at seven furlongs over muddy and sealed footing, additionally missing the board in the state-bred Bouwerie in June at Saratoga Race Course.
“She appears to just excel at three quarters. Maybe it is maturity, I don’t know, but right now we are sticking with the model that is working,” Duggan said. “Her distance limitation is three-quarters, that is why we didn’t go in the Broadway [last Sunday versus state-breds]. This made more sense.”
At six furlongs, Sunday Girl [post 1, Katie Davis] is 2-for-2, including her last-out victory and a dominant debut graduation last February here.
“She has a high cruising speed. There will be lots of pace in there, she sat off the pace last time, but we’ll look at the dynamics of the race before we make any decisions,” Duggan said. “She can be on or close to the lead and be effective. Katie knows what to do and I don’t give a whole lot of instructions.”
Bred in the Empire State by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds and Spruce Lane Farm, Sunday Girl was a $100,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and is out of the winning Harlan’s Holiday mare Lady Daphne. Her second dam is stakes-winner Littlebitabling, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Too Much Bling, as well as multiple stakes-winners Ready for Roses and Barnsy.
Bonne Chance Farm’s Brazilian-bred Neverwalkalone [post 3, Luan Machado] is set for a surface change and cutback in distance after a close second in the Likely Exchange going one-mile over the Turfway Park synthetic on January 24.
Trained by Paulo Lobo, the 5-year-old Agnes Gold dark bay made her prior three efforts on turf, and she was a dual Group 1-winner on that surface in Argentina in 2023 for conditioner Carlos Etchechoury. On dirt in Argentina, she graduated second-out and was third in the Grade 1 Polla de Potrancas at Hipodromo Argentino De Palermo.
“We were thinking for a long time to try her on the dirt because she had two dirt races in Argentina and did pretty well over it,” said Lobo. “Now, I think the time is perfect. My feeling is she’s going to run good going shorter.”
Lobo was encouraged by Neverwalkalone’s last out half-length defeat to Everland, who was fifth in last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks and Grade 1 Cotillion and is entered in Saturday’s Wintergreen at Turfway.
“It was a very, very good race. She finished second to a very good mare here. I loved it, I loved the way she ran,” Lobo said.
Meet-leading trainer Linda Rice will saddle the multiple stakes-placed St. Benedicts Prep [post 5, Jose Lezcano] and recent graduate Shop Lifting [post 4, Kendrick Carmouche].
Ronald P. Stewart’s St. Benedicts Prep enters from three consecutive stakes placings. The 5-year-old Flatter bay was second in the local seven-furlong Interborough on January 25, a week after a nose defeat in the six-furlong What A Summer at Laurel Park. She enters from a third in the seven-furlong Listed Barbara Fritchie on February 25 at Laurel.
St. Benedicts Prep was haltered for $80,000 out of a win last April at Keeneland, and after unseating her rider in her first outing for new connections, has hit the board in 9-of-10 starts since.
Team Spoor’s Shop Lifting enters from an 11th start graduation sprinting seven furlongs on February 21 here. The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay led at each point of call en route to a 7 1/4-length victory, avenging three consecutive local seconds.
Shop Lifting’s nearest miss came on debut for trainer Anthony Dutrow when defeated a head by that year’s eventual Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Just F Y I sprinting six furlongs in August 2023 at Saratoga Race Course.
Rounding out the field is LC Racing’s multiple stakes-winner Disco Ebo [post 2, Abner Adorno], who looks to rebound off a troubled seasonal debut where she unseated her rider on February 6 here. Trained by Butch Reid, Jr., the 6-year-old Weigelia bay was favored in the 6 1/2-furlong optional-claimer following thirds in the Mrs. Claus at Parx Racing and the Mahoning Distaff at its namesake oval to close out 2024.
Disco Ebo has won at least one stakes per year since she debuted in 2021, taking that year’s Pennsylvania-bred Shamrock Rose at Parx, the 2022 Youngstown Oaks at Mahoning Valley Race Course, the 2023 Penn’s Landing at Parx and the 2024 Primonetta at Laurel. Reid, Jr. is approaching 1000 wins, with 995 as of Wednesday morning.
The Correction is slated as Race 2 on Sunday’s nine-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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