Trainer Tom Albertrani will have two opportunities
to win a graded stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Memorial Day, May 28 as he
will likely run Zo Impressive in
the Grade 1 Acorn and Better Lucky
in the Grade 2 Sands Point.
Zo Impressive will enter the Acorn off a second, beaten 6 ½ lengths, to
Grace Hall in the Grade 2, 1 1/8-mile Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 31. The
Live Oak Plantation homebred will be cutting back in distance for the Acorn, a one-mile
race around a single turn.
“It was a good effort,” Albertrani said of Zo
Impressive’s performance in the Gulfstream Park Oaks. “It was her
first time around two turns. I was very pleased with her effort as she was
second to Grace Hall. It was no disgrace. We still thought there was a lot of
improvement we could see from her going into that race.”
Zo Impressive made two starts at Gulfstream prior to the Gulfstream
Park Oaks, debuting a 6 ¼-length winner going six furlongs on January 22 and
drawing off to a 4 ½-length score in a one-mile allowance on February 25.
“The Acorn is a one-turn mile, and she’s won at that distance,
too,” noted Albertrani. “She’s doing very well, and we are
looking forward to getting her back on track. She has a good race record so
far, and we hope to see her continue and get to win a Grade 1.”
Zo Impressive, by Hard Spun, will attempt to emulate her half-sister
Zaftig, who won the 2008 Acorn. Their dam, Zoftig, was victorious in the 2000
Grade 1 Selene at Woodbine.
According to NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes, the Acorn is also
expected to attract Aubby K, a 9
¾-length winner of a Gulfstream optional claimer on March 25; Contested, victorious in the Grade 3 Eight
Belles on May 4 at Churchill Downs; Hard
Mystery, heroine of Belmont’s Inside Information overnight
stakes on April 28; and Reneesgotzip,
who took a Betfair Hollywood Park allowance on May 4. Funny Proposition, Lady Cohiba, and On Fire Baby are questionable.
The 1 1/16-mile Sands Point will be the first start on turf for Darley
Stable’s Better Lucky, who in her most recent start won a 6 ½-furlong
optional claimer by 5 ¼ lengths in the mud on May 2 at Belmont. In her lone
route attempt, she was third in the Busher on February 25 at Aqueduct.
“With her having liked the off going, there’s a chance
she’ll like turf as well,” said Albertrani of the daughter of
Ghostzapper. “She fits well in the race. It’s kind of an
experiment, but going back to Busher she put in a big run on the turn and she
flattened out. She ran like a turf horse that day, and her pedigree suggests
she can run on it.”
The list of probable fillies for the Sands Point also includes Firehouse Red, Kitty Wine, Modulate,
Preach Tome Daddy, Regalo Mia, and Somali Lemonade.