Jockey Rene Douglas will be aboard the chestnut daughter of Giant's Causeway in the 1 1/8 mile turf test. Naissance Royale has been a top class performer in the U.S. since arriving from France and capturing the Lake Placid Stakes (gr. IIT) at Saratoga in August of 2005 in her first start for trainer Christophe Clement.
Naissance Royale was beaten less than a length for it all in last year's Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (gr. IT) at Keeneland and won the Nassau Stakes (gr. IIT) at Woodbine in early June this season. Clement sent out Snowdrops to capture the My Charmer last year and Danish to score in the 1995 renewal.
Trainer Bobby Frankel's Florida winter division recently shipped into Gulfstream Park and will come out running with Stronach Stable's 5-year-old French-bred mare Amorama and Gary and Mary West's 4-year-old filly Dream Lady in the My Charmer, with jockeys Manoel Cruz and Rafael Bejarano, respectively.
Frank Stronach purchased Amorama in Kentucky late last year for more than $1 million as a racing and breeding prospect after the daughter of Sri Pekan scored her most important career victory in the 2005 John C. Mabee Handicap (gr. I) at Del Mar. She finished a close-up fourth defending that title this summer, but will have to improve from a ninth-place effort in the Cardinal Handicap (gr. III) last out at Churchill Downs Nov. 5.
Dream Lady ran very well to finish third last out in the Athenia Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct Oct. 15 and won the Omnibus Stakes at Monmouth Park before that with Naissance Royale fourth as the odds-on choice. A daughter of Old Trieste, Dream Lady will have to overcome the far outside post 12 on Saturday.
The highly accomplished winter arrivals face a solid local contender in the form of Jacks or Better Farm's 3-year-old homebred filly Bayou's Lassie. The daughter of Outflanker has won all three of her starts on turf for trainer Stanley Gold, most recently the Calder Oaks on Oct 14.
My Charmer Handicap, 1 1/8 miles, turf
1 -- Royal Wave, Jose Lezcano, 113
2 -- Bayou's Lassier, Elvis Trujillo, 114
3 -- My Lordship, Christopher DeCarlo, 117
4 -- Naissance Royale, Rene Douglas, 120
5 -- La Dolce Vita, Cornelio Velasquez, 113
6 -- Tiger Belle, Daniel Centeno, 117
7 -- Amorama, Manoel Cruz, 117
8 -- Brazilian, Joe Bravo, 114
9 -- Sixty Rockets, Eduardo Nunez
10 -- Brunilda, Eddie Castro, 116
11 -- Jacaranda Jane, Jose Velez, Jr., 114
12 -- Dream Lady, Rafael Bejarano, 115
AE -- Skip Command, Jeffrey Sanchez, 113
AE -- Rutledge Ballado, Rene Douglas, 113
AE -- Chamsil, Cornelio Velasquez, 113
