Adam Coglianese Photo

Nice as Pie leads pair for Danner in $150K Winter Memories

by Mary Eddy

Trainer Kelsey Danner has entered two strong contenders in Nice as Pie and Zo Lee as part of a competitive overflow field for Friday’s Listed $150,000 Winter Memories, a one-mile inner turf route for sophomore fillies, on Opening Day of the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

Dede McGehee’s Nice as Pie [post 9, Adam Beschizza] has been just that in seven lifetime outings, winning four and earning a runner-up effort in another when defeated a head last out in the one-mile Penn Oaks on May 31 at Penn National in her first effort beyond sprint distances. There, she showed an impressive turn of foot to run down all but one of her rivals when a head short of Poolside With Slim, who reopposes in the Winter Memories.

“She’s been working lights out since then, so we should be good. We had to turn her out for 30 days,” Danner said. “Hopefully, she can be a little closer to it on Friday. Grass is fine, and Aqueduct is pretty fair. There should be a fair amount of speed in this race with several coming out of sprints, so I hope it sets up well.”

Out of the Include mare How Nice, Nice as Pie is a half-sister to the Danner-trained stakes-winning turf sprinter Smokin’ Jay, as well as two other winners at sprint distances, making her affinity for more ground last out a pleasant surprise for her conditioner.

“I honestly didn’t know if she would stretch, because everything in her dam’s side of the family did not want to stretch out, but she’s very ratable and came from way off of it last time,” Danner said.

The daughter of Tapiture looks to add to wins in the Valdale and Serena’s Song this winter sprinting on synthetic at Turfway Park, which were part of an impressive four-race win streak to kick off her sophomore campaign.

Danner has also entered Adam Barley's Zo Lee [post 2, Katie Davis], who is dual stakes-placed at distances of one mile and six furlongs, enters from a narrow defeat last out going the latter distance on synthetic in the Lady Erie on August 5 at Presque Isle Downs. Danner said the daughter of Good Samaritan is possible for other races at Presque Isle and Keeneland.

“She’s been really consistent, and she’s fine at a mile,” said Danner. “She’s very versatile and has a little speed. She’d be sitting closer to the pace.”

Zo Lee seeks her first stakes victory, as well as her first trip to the winner’s circle since a prominent 5 1/2-furlong optional claiming win last August at Colonial Downs.

Nearly one month after scratching from the Grade 2 Lake Placid on August 17 at Saratoga Race Course, Patricia Moseley’s Kentucky homebred Proctor Street [Dylan Davis, post AE12] hopes to draw in from two deep off the also-eligible list for her first attempt at stakes level.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, the regally-bred daughter of Street Sense is out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Walsh-trained Moseley homebred Proctor’s Ledge, who won three graded events as part of an 18-5-4-1 record. Now, her daughter will look to score a stakes win of her own, albeit a touch later than originally planned.

“She’s doing really good. We had to miss the Lake Placid because she got loose a couple days before and ran around,” said Walsh. “It wasn’t ideal, so we skipped it and she’s doing good going into this.”

The talented dark bay brings a perfect 2-for-2 record to the oversubscribed field, with both wins coming by narrow margins and in thrilling rallying fashion. Proctor Street kicked off her career with a head score in May at Horseshoe Indianapolis, flying home from nine lengths off the pace to nail For Love and Honor at the wire in the 1 1/16-mile maiden.

Proctor Street followed with a similar deep-closing win going the same distance last out on July 18 at Saratoga, pouncing from last-of-10 to get up just in time and nail Grayosh by a nose. The win at odds of 17-1 garnered an 86 Beyer Speed Figure, and was further flattered when Grayosh exited that effort to win the Lake Placid. The third-place finisher, the stakes-placed Destiny Star, also exited to win an allowance on August 14 at the Spa.

“Obviously, the form is working out good, so we’re really looking forward to this. It’s been unbelievable,” Walsh said of the start of the filly’s career. “Kind of similar to her mom actually, just very progressive as she comes along. She’s been working great, so we’ll give it a go and see how we do.”

Walsh has also supplemented Flying Dutchmen's dual stakes-placed Cloudwalker [post 6, Jose Lezcano], who stretches out from a rallying third-place finish last out to Twirling Queen in the 5 1/2-furlong Listed Coronation Cup on July 12 at the Spa.

The daughter of More Than Ready has hit the board in each of her five outings, including two wins and another stakes third in the Listed Mamzelle in May at Churchill Downs. Each of the dark bay’s starts have come at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Glenn Bromagen, II, Patrick Lewis and Sandra Bromagen’s Poolside With Slim [post 7, Frankie Dettori] looks to rebound from a last-out fourth in the Tepin on June 29 at Churchill for conditioner Rusty Arnold. The daughter of Churchill raced in fourth throughout the one-mile Tepin and attempted to launch a bid while six-wide into the stretch, but was ineffective and was defeated 2 1/4 lengths by Dancing N Dixie.

Poolside With Slim looks to add to her determined head score over Nice as Pie in the Penn Oaks, her first stakes victory after two off-the-board efforts in a pair of graded contests this spring. She was a $105,700 purchase at the 2022 Goffs Orby Yearling Sale.

Klaravich Stables’ Dynamic Pricing [post 8, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] is the lone graded stakes-winner in the field, boasting a win in the Grade 2 Edgewood this May at Churchill Downs going 1 1/16 miles over yielding footing.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the Irish-bred daughter of Night of Thunder was last seen finishing a close third behind stablemate Grayosh in the Lake Placid, defeated three-quarter lengths after a stalking trip engineered by returning pilot Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Dynamic Pricing earned a 90 Beyer for her half-length win over Way to Be Marie in the Edgewood, marking a breakthrough at the graded level two starts after a close third in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant in February at Gulfstream Park.

Brown will also send out CHP Racing’s Lady de Berry [post 10, Flavien Prat, blinkers ON], who was a last-out third in the Boiling Springs on July 13 at Monmouth Park. The daughter of Practical Joke earned a graded placing when a game second to Zona Verde in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante in December at Del Mar.

The consistent Whiskey Decision [post 5, Junior Alvarado] gets class relief after an uncharacteristic sixth last out in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on August 17 for trainer Arnaud Delacour, who noted the filly will race with blinkers off.

“She may have done a little too much and didn’t quite finish,” Delacour said of the prominent effort. “I like the fact that we’re going back to a mile, and we’re taking the blinkers off. Hopefully, she can have a little more pace and can settle better.”

A Kentucky homebred for Fred W. Hertrich, III and John D. Fielding, the daughter of Into Mischief put together an impressive three-race win streak earlier this year when graduating by 6 1/2 lengths at second asking going this distance over synthetic at Turfway in March, and following with another dominant score in a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer over the Churchill turf in May.

She capped her streak two starts back with a tidy 2 3/4-length victory in the nine-furlong Christiana on July 8 at Delaware Park ahead of her last out effort in which she attended the pace and briefly held command in the middle stages before weakening to be defeated seven lengths as the favorite.

“I think we just have to draw a line through the last race,” said Delacour. “She’s doing well.”

The regally-bred filly is from a strong female line that stems from her third dam Note Musicale, who produced multiple Grade 1-winner Music Note, the dam of Group 1 Dubai World Cup-winner Mystic Guide.

Completing the competitive field are French stakes-winner Les Reys [post 3, Joel Rosario], who makes her stateside debut for trainer Christophe Clement; stakes-placed Macanga [post 1, Jose Gomez], who is cross-entered in Saturday’s Grade 3 Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr.; and two-time winning filly Mixologist [post 4, Manny Franco], who is also cross-entered in the Jockey Club Oaks for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.

Ready to Jam, Vino Rouge and Ori have been listed as also-eligible. Value Area is entered for the main track-only.

The Winter Memories is slated as Race 9 on Friday’s 10-race program. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.

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