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She’s My Type set for 4-year-old bow in Friday’s License Fee

by Brian Bohl

Ghislaine Head’s She’s My Type, a two-time stakes winner as a sophomore last year, will make her 4-year-old debut on Friday as part of a 10-horse field of older fillies and mares going six furlongs on the turf in the re-scheduled $100,000 License Fee at Belmont Park.

The eighth running of the License Fee, contested on the inner turf course, was moved from its original date on Sunday, April 25 because of inclement weather to Friday, April 30, as the finale of the nine-race card at 5:05 p.m. Eastern. First post is 12:20 p.m.

She’s My Type made one start as a juvenile, winning her debut in December 2019 at Gulfstream Park. That set up a successful 2020 campaign that saw a 2-1-1 record in six starts, including a victory by a neck over Moral Reasoning in the Ginger Brew last January at Gulfstream Park to start her career 2-for-2.

The French-bred daughter of Dunkerque made a strong Belmont debut in June, running second to Bredenbury in the six-furlong Lady Shipman to garner an 85 Beyer Speed Figure. The Christophe Clement trainee improved on that effort next out with a half-length victory in the 5 1/2-furlong Coronation Cup over firm Saratoga Race Course turf in July.

Clement gave She’s My Type a respite after capping her year with a seventh-place finish in the Music City in September at Kentucky Downs. She’s My Type has been training at the Florida-based Payson Park, where Clement said she looks sharp as makes her first start in seven months.

“Everything is good; we got very lucky with the race being moved,” Clement said. “She’s been training great. She has always been a lovely filly and has been very consistent. We’re excited to see her run back.”

Hector Diaz, Jr. drew the assignment, breaking from post 5.

Sweet Melania, owned by Robert and Lawana Low, ran fourth in the six-furlong Sand Springs on March 27 at Gulfstream Park, marking her first start in nearly five months for trainer Todd Pletcher. Sweet Melania burst on to the scene as a 2-year-old in 2019 with a victory in the Grade 2 Jessamine at Keeneland before running third in that year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

The now 4-year-old daughter of Triple Crown-winning American Pharoah will be running at Belmont for the first time since capturing last year’s Grade 3 Wonder Again in June.

“She’s very consistent,” said Pletcher assistant Byron Hughes. “She ran OK down in Florida last out, but we’re hoping second time off the layoff she shows improvement. She just really seems to like it up here in New York, so hopefully that helps out as well.”

Jose Lezcano will have the call from post 9.

FF Inventment’s Flower Point will be making her first start for Hall of Fame conditioner Shug McGaughey and just her second start overall since 2019.

Under previous trainer John Sadler, Flower Point compiled a 2-0-2 record in eight starts in 2019 running primarily on the California circuit. The now 5-year-old Point of Entry filly last ran in an eighth-place effort in an optional claimer in January 2020 at Santa Anita Park. Transferred to the East Coast and under McGaughey’s care three months ago, Flower Point has recorded her last two works at Belmont, including a four-furlong breeze in 49.87 over the dirt training track on April 3 and a four-furlong work in 48.49 over the dirt main track on April 14.

“She’s been fine; she came to me in January and we’ve just been taking our time with her,” McGaughey said. “She’s a big, strong Point of Entry filly who was sprinting out in California. I think eventually, we’ll try to get her stretched out and go from there. She’s very aggressive in what she does. She’s been good and sound and we’re looking forward to running her.”

Trevor McCarthy will be in the irons, breaking from post 8.

Another horse looking to make an impression in a first start for a new trainer is I’llhandalthecash, who will look to repeat in the License Fee following a half-length win when the race was contested last July. Previously trained by Ray Handal, I’llhandalthecash was transferred to the care of conditioner Mike Maker and will be making her first start since running sixth in the six-furlong Autumn Days in November at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Owned by VinLaur Racing Stables, Dark Horse Racing Stable and Taste of Victory Stables, I’llhandalthecash is 2-1-1 in five starts at Belmont. Luis Cardenas will have the call from the inside post.

Maker will also send out Three Diamonds Farm’s Jakarta, who built on consecutive fourth-place stakes finishes to start 2021 before running third in the 5 ½-furlong Giants Causeway on April 10 over Keeneland’s turf course. The 6-year-old Bustin Stones mare won 4-of-9 starts in 2020 and will be running at Belmont for just the second time in her 22nd career start, having finished a tiring seventh in the Grade 3 Intercontinental over a yielding course last June.

Jaime Rodriguez will be aboard from post 2.

Michael Schrader’s Robin Sparkles will be making her stakes debut after three consecutive wins against allowance company at NYRA tracks for trainer Bruce Brown. She will be making her seventh start, with all of her races sprints, though Brown said a strong effort could encourage her to try routes later in the campaign.

"She's a long, rangy filly and I think eventually she will stretch out a little bit," Brown said. "She did win going seven-eighths and a flat mile might be within her range. I think a big thing for her will be maturing. In her early races, she was using her speed but not really knowing how to control it. Hopefully, with more maturity, she'll gain more control of that."

Joe Bravo will ride from post 7.

Rabbah Bloodstock’s Lady Lawyer has won two of her five North American starts since arriving from Great Britain last year, showing she can thrive going both short [a second-out optional claimer victory at 5 1/2 furlongs in July at Saratoga] and longer distances [winning a one-mile allowance tilt in October at Keeneland].

Lady Lawyer, a 5-year-old Blame mare for trainer Chad Brown, earned a personal-best 92 Beyer for her fourth-place effort in the 12-horse Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint in September. She will be making her first start of 2021, drawing post 3 with Eric Cancel in the irons.

Dennis Narlinger’s Sadie Lady racked up two consecutives, ending her 2020 campaign by toping optional claimers and winning the Correction in March at Aqueduct Racetrack in her 5-year-old bow. Trainer Rob Atras will make the surface switch, putting Sadie Lady on turf for the first time since October 2019.

“Her form shows she's run some good races on turf,” Atras said. “She really got good at Aqueduct and her Belmont races are so-so. I'm not sure what to expect. She might just have developed over time into a better filly.

“She may be able to handle the turf just as well. It would be interesting to see,” added Atras. “If she can sprint on turf here just as well as she did on dirt at Aqueduct, it would open up a lot more options for her this spring and summer.”

Sadie Lady, 1-0-1 in five career turf starts, all in 2019, drew the outermost post with Luis Rodriguez Castro set to ride.

Rounding out the field is Introduced, winner of the Smart N Fancy in August at Saratoga for conditioner Jorge Duarte, Jr. [post 6, Manny Franco]; and Caravel, a last-out winner in the Malvern Rose in October at Presque Isle Downs for owner-trainer Elizabeth Merryman [post 10, Nik Juarez].

Malibu Mischief entered for the main track only. 

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