Hungry
Island was reported to be “very good”
following her upset victory in Sunday’s Grade 2 Woodford Reserve Lake Placid.
The filly’s Hall of Fame trainer, Shug McGaughey, was pleased, but not surprised
by her Lake Placid triumph.
“Her races all year long have
been good,” McGaughey said. “It’s been a great progression and I’ve been able to
do with her what I wanted to do. After that allowance race [at
Belmont on June 8], I
didn’t really want to run her against older horses again so when the book came
out up here and there was a 3-year-old filly little overnight stakes, we were
able to do that. The Lake George was just a little too quick back for her, so I
thought, ‘Well, I’ll just give her the time and go [to the
Lake Placid ] and then that way if I need to press on in
the fall at least she’ll be kind of fresh.’”
Hungry Island
now has won four straight, breaking her maiden at
Belmont on May 6 and taking the June 8 allowance en route
to victories in
Saratoga ’s Recording overnight stakes and the
Woodford Reserve Lake Placid.
“She’s been doing so well here,”
McGaughey added. “I didn’t know if we could beat [Winter Memories] or not, but I
knew she’d know we were in there. I think the more [Alex Solis] has ridden her,
the more confidence he’s had in her and I think he’s ridden her very well. In
yesterday’s race, he maybe asked her a couple of times and that might have been
sort of new to her; I was glad she was able to do that. When it rained, I didn’t
figure there’d be much pace, but there wasn’t much pace in the races [at
Belmont] either, so I really wasn’t worried about if she could kick, I thought
she’d have a chance to pick up ground, though, and she did.”
McGaughey said he would nominate
the daughter of More Than Ready to the Grade 1, $250,000 Garden City at
Belmont
Park on September 17 and
then look to the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland on
October 15.
“[The Garden City] is where I
would plan on running her, but I just want to make sure that we didn’t take too
much out of her,” McGaughey said. “We’ve also got the Queen Elizabeth at
Keeneland. Best-case scenario would be to make both of them and then shut it
down. If I just make one of them, that’s fine, too.”