Quaintly, who carried the colors of Mrs. John Magnier,
Michael Tabor and Derrrick Smith in Ireland before being sent to America and
trainer Patrick Biancone earlier this year, has been nominated to the Grade 1
$500,000 United Nations Stakes here on July 7. She’s the only filly among the
18 turf specialists nominated and now she needs to tell her trainer if she’s
ready for the race, which is a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” for the $3
million Turf this fall.
“We have to work her this weekend (in Southern California)
but we’re booked to come here. She’ll stretch her legs and we’ll see how she
comes out of it. She’s booked on a plane for Monday and we will decide Sunday if
she’s going to be on it,” said Biancone, who was on the Monmouth backside on
Friday morning. “If she’s perfect, she’ll be on the plane. When you run them
back a bit quickly, you need to make sure that everything is alright.”
The 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Giant’s Causeway
and the Seeking the Gold mare Measure ran June 24 in the Grade 3 Beverly Hills
Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park. After setting a sow pace, she moved early
down the backstretch, battled through the turn and into the stretch, and raced
gamely finish third.
“That last race was not her style. They just sprinted to the
three-eighths pole,” said Biancone. “The longer the race, the better for her.
She likes firm going and she likes the distance (of the United Nations).”
Biancone said that Quaintly was sent to the United States
because she was showing more ability in her morning outings than she was in her
afternoon races and her connections felt that she would be better suited to the
American tracks.
“She likes to run in circles,” he said. “You’ll often see
that horses who come over from Europe find
another dimension here. Some like to run in circles (as opposed to the
straight-aways on European courses). They like the smaller tracks. When the
race is a-mile-and-three-eighths, they go three turns and she will like that.”
Quaintly has two wins, three thirds and four seconds from 14
career starts and in three efforts in America since April, has two seconds and
a third.