After closing out last season with a victory in the La Prevoyante Handicap (gr. IIIT) Dec. 27 on the Gulfstream Park turf, Irish Mission will attempt to open 2015 with a win on that same course with a scheduled start in the $150,000 Very One Stakes (gr. IIIT) Saturday, Feb. 21.
A classic winner in Canada in 2012, Robert S. Evans' Irish Mission registered her first two graded stakes wins last season as three starts before the La Prevoyante the daughter of Giant's Causeway took the Glens Falls Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Christophe Clement, Irish Mission has earned $1,266,863 from a record of 6-6-3 from 28 starts. Irish Mission was bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm.
Irish Mission will not be alone in making her 2015 debut in Saturday's 1 3/8-mile turf race as six of the eight mares entered haven't yet raced this season. One of the longer layoffs belongs to Juddmonte Farms homebred Riposte, a daughter of Dansili who hasn't raced since closing out last season with back-to-back grade II turf victories in May at Belmont Park in the Sheepshead Bay Stakes and in June in the New York Stakes. She is trained by Bill Mott.
Clement also has entered Tabreed, a 6-year-old daughter of Sakhee who will be making her first start since finishing second to Irish Mission in the La Prevoyante.
Sire Kitten's Joy should be well represented as Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Always Kitten is entered off a fourth-place finish in the La Prevoyante and Augustin Stable's Kitten's Point will be making her second start of the season after winning the Astra Stakes Jan. 18 on the Santa Anita Park turf.
Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 21, 2015, Race 5Entries: Very One S. (G3T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Caroline Thomas (KY) Rajiv Maragh 117 Barclay Tagg - 2 2Always Kitten (KY) Javier Castellano 117 Michael J. Maker - 3 3Irish Mission (ON) John R. Velazquez 121 Christophe Clement - 4 4Bitty Kitty (KY) Corey J. Lanerie 117 Brendan P. Walsh - 5 5Kitten's Point (PA) Flavien Prat 117 H. Graham Motion - 6 6Riposte (GB) Joel Rosario 121 William I. Mott - 7 7Tabreed (GB) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 117 Christophe Clement - 8 8Meri Shika (FR) Jose Lezcano 117 Roger L. Attfield -
