Photo: MEC
Charlotte Weber’s high-powered Live Oak Plantation and trainer Eddie
Plesa, Jr. will hope that 6-year-old homebred Successful Song can end
her racing career on a high note as she will be favored in a field of
seven fillies and mares drawn for the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff
Saturday.
Jockey Joel Rosario gets a return call on Successful Song after they
teamed up to win the $100,000 Ocala Stakes going one mile here on Dec.
30 by a half-length, a race that might have been her last as plans call
for her to be bred in the spring.
“As well as she ran to win the Ocala we just thought there was no
reason not to run her this one more time in Saturday’s race,” said
trainer Eddie Plesa, Jr. “That (Ocala) was actually the first two-turn
race she’s ever won. Her biggest successes have come in two-turn races.”
A daughter of Successful Appeal, Successful Song has been a steady
stakes performer for several seasons while posting a 26-7-5-5 record for
earnings of $417,000 with career highlighted including four stakes
victories.
She placed in a pair of Graded stakes when second in the Rampart
Handicap (G3) here in 2011 behind Awesome Maria with Unrivaled Belle
third and another good runner-up effort in the Molly Pitcher Handicap
(G2) at Monmouth Park last summer.
Successful Song’s nemesis in several stakes at Calder over the last
couple of seasons was Tony’s Investments’ 5-year-old My Pal Chrisy, a
well-beaten third last out in the Ocala as the favorite for
owner-trainer Padarath ‘Tony’ Lutchman. The daughter of Alex’s Pal was a
7 ¼ lengths winner of the $150,000 Elmer Huebeck Distaff Handicap at
Calder in November with Successful Song third.
Jockey Luca Panici rides My Pal Chrisy, who had missed the board in
all three previous tries over the Gulfstream track before the Ocala and
may simply not be as effective as she is over the Calder surface. My Pal
Chrisy had also won the Elmer Huebeck in 2011. She finished a
well-beaten fourth behind then undefeated Awesome Feather in this race
early last year.
Completing the field for the Distaff are Alfonso Miranda’s Delray
Lady, Winning move Stable’s Score Boyera, Farnsworth Stable’s Speak Easy
Gal, Hardacre Farm’s Tale of Peace and Michael Dubb and Bethelehem
Stable’s Mud Honey.