Juvenile fillies ready for G1 Frizette with Breeders' Cup spot on the line

by Brian Bohl

A field six 2-year-old fillies will make their Grade 1 debuts and vie for an all-fees paid trip to the Breeders' Cup in the $400,000 Frizette on "Super Saturday" at Belmont Park.

A "Win and You're In" race for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in November at Santa Anita Park, the Frizette is one of six graded stakes races on the docket and one of four Grade 1's with Breeders' Cup spots on the line, joining the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup, the $500,000 Flower Bowl and the $500,000 Champagne.

Nonna Mela is the lone entry with a graded stakes victory to her credit after posting a six-length score in the Grade 2 Adirondack on August 19 at Saratoga Race Course. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Nonna Mela is 2-0-1 through her first three starts. 

"It was better than we expected," Pletcher said about the Adirondack. "She seemed to take care of a solid field pretty easily. I was impressed by the way she did it, impressed by the way she settled off one horse and really kicked on strongly, so we were really pleased with the way she ran."

Owned by St. Elias Stable, Nonna Mela was purchased for $310,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sales. The daughter of 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic-participant Arch will exit post 3 with Javier Castellano in the irons.

"She's been training really well," Pletcher said. "I think she'll handle the step up in distance. She's trained as though she wants to run further. She's got three races under her belt and training well, so we're looking forward to it."

Yellow Agate won her debut in impressive fashion on September 11, recording a field-high 84 Beyer Speed Figure. The China Horse Club's bay filly won the six-furlong sprint by a half-length after rallying from fourth and will now look to stretch out in the Frizette's distance of one mile.

Trained by Christophe Clement, Yellow Agate breezed five furlongs in 1:01.55 on Belmont's main track on Thursday. Manny Franco, who rode her to victory last month, will again have the call out of post 4.

"She had a nice work the other day in company to get her to relax a little bit and make sure we're OK, especially going a mile," said Christophe Lorieul, assistant to Clement. "She had a very good work. We know it's a big step going from a maiden win, but she's doing well and it's that time of the year where you can take a shot. If she runs good, our options are open."

The Rudy Rodriguez-trained Libby's Tail finished fourth last out as the favorite in the Adirondack, weakening late and being overtaken by Olive Branch.

A $375,000 Ocala Breeders' Sale purchase in April, Libby's Tail broke her maiden by 1 ½-lengths on July 2 at Belmont. Owned by Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables, and partners, the daughter of Tiz Wonderful will depart post 2 with Irad Ortiz, Jr.

"We were a little disappointed last time, I thought she could have finished better," Rodriguez said. "We wanted to stretch her out and see if we could get lucky here. I hope the mile distance sets up well.

"We figured maybe she didn't like Saratoga, but she was training good," he added. "She liked running at Belmont before, so it'll be interesting to see her run again."

Libby's Tail's stablemate Colorful Charades will look to build on a maiden-breaking win on August 14 at the Spa. Hall of Famer John Velazquez will have the call out of post 6.

"I'll let the jockeys decide what to do," Rodriguez said. "My riders are good, I'll just tell them 'good luck' and hope for the best. Pretty much everyone is going a mile for the first time. Everybody is in the same situation to see what the next level is for them."

Sky Gesture, a maiden winner on August 28 for My Meadowview Farm, drew the rail for trainer Rick Violette. Hall of Famer Mike Smith will be in the irons. 

Completing the field is Star Super, who made her stakes debut with a third-place showing in the Sorority for trainer Dale Capuano. She will leave from post 5 with Trevor McCarthy.