Entered off back-to-back graded stakes wins, grade II winner Paulassilverlining will try to extend that streak to three against a deep field of female sprinters in the $200,000 Honorable Miss Stakes (gr. II) July 27 at Saratoga Race Course.
Vincent Scuderi's Paulassilverlining has won at least one stakes race in each of the three seasons the 4-year-old Ghostzapper filly has raced. Trained by Michelle Nevin, Paulassilverlining won the Matron Stakes (gr. II) in her juvenile season at Belmont Park and last year won the Ruthless Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. She enters Wednesday's six-furlong test off victories in the Distaff Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct and the Vagrancy Handicap (gr. III) at Belmont.
"She's really putting it together this year," Nevin said of the filly, who broke her maiden at Saratoga in 2014. "She's matured. What I think helps Paula is that she is just so relaxed and chilled-out, and doesn't put too much pressure on herself in the mornings. She's saving herself for the afternoon."
Looking for her first Saratoga stakes win, Paulassilverlining will start from the inside and carry high weight of 122 pounds in the Honorable Miss, spotting the six fillies and mares to her outside four to seven pounds.
Starting from the outside in the field will be stakes winner Bar of Gold, who last year earned a grade I-placing at Saratoga when she finished second to Cavorting in the Longines Test Stakes. Chester and Mary Broman's Bar of Gold, a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro, enters off a third in the Bed o' Roses Handicap (gr. III) June 25 at Belmont.
Trainer John Kimmel said New York-bred Bar of Gold is well-prepared for Wednesday's race.
"I think she is doing very well right now and is sitting on a very good performance," Kimmel said. "Obviously, Paulassilverlining is the horse to beat. We got hung pretty far wide when we ran against Paula in the Distaff. Paula got through on the inside and she had the perfect trip and set-up. Actually, I was the farthest outside, because Cavorting was also inside of me. I thought our filly ran pretty darn good that day."
Joe Ragsdale's Sarah Sis, a grade II winner, snapped a four-race skid in her previous start as the daughter of Sharp Humor scored a front-running victory in the Chicago Handicap (gr. III) June 25 at Arlington International Racecourse.
Rounding out the field are Disco Chick, who owns two stakes wins this season; La Madrina, who enters off an allowance/optional claiming race win in May at Pimlico Race Course; New York-bred Haveyougoneaway, who rallied to a stakes win against other state-breds July 3 at Belmont; and Diva Express, who won the Winning Colors Stakes (gr. III) May 28 at Churchill Downs.
Saratoga Race Course, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, Race 8Entries: Honorable Miss H. (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Paulassilverlining (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Michelle Nevin 2/1 2 2Disco Chick (PA) Trevor McCarthy 116 Mario Serey, Jr. 6/1 3 3La Madrina (KY) Javier Castellano 115 Claude R. McGaughey III 8/1 4 4Haveyougoneaway (NY) Kendrick Carmouche 116 Thomas Morley 3/1 5 5Diva Express (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 116 Mark E. Casse 10/1 6 6Sarah Sis (KY) Jose Valdivia, Jr. 118 Ingrid Mason 5/1 7 7Bar of Gold (NY) Junior Alvarado 117 John C. Kimmel 9/2
