Lady Eli vs. Sunset Glow: The Rematch is On!

In the last meeting between Lady Eli and Sunset Glow in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Fillies Turf (G1) at Santa Anita on Oct. 31, Lady Eli put on an impressive performance to win the race over Sunset Glow.

Impressive because, after following front runner, Sunset Glow, in fourth place along the rail around the track and into the final turn, Lady Eli not only passed her rival at the top of the stretch to take the lead, but, if you watched the race (or the replay), Lady Eli kept looking back over her shoulder at Sunset Glow most of the stretch run as if she was staring her opponent down and saying, 'Come catch me if you can.'

At the wire, Lady Eli, with her regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, won the race by 2-3/4 lengths, while Sunset Glow, with Victor Espinoza riding, finished second.

Lady Eli ran the race in 1:33.41, which was the fastest Juvenile Fillies Turf ever run.

After that race, both horses were given time off over the winter before beginning to train once again for their 2015 season opener.

And, what a season opener it will be, as the two are both scheduled to run against each other in a rematch of their Breeders' Cup dual this Sunday, April 12, in the $125,000 Appalachian Stakes (G2T) Presented by Japan Racing Association at Keeneland.

While both horses come into the race following long rests, prior to that, the two took very different paths before their first meeting in the Breeders' Cup.

Lady Eli, who is by Divine Park-Sacre Coeur, by Saint Ballado (Can), was foaled in Kentucky on February 2, 2012 by breeder Runnymede Farm and Catesby W. Clay.

The dark brown filly began racing as a 2-year-old in 2014 and went undefeated in all three of her races under jockey Ortiz Jr.

She won in her debut, an 8.5 furlong Maiden Special Weight, at Saratoga on Aug. 25. It was a close race, in which she came from behind to win by a nose over Complicated.

After a seven-month break, she came back strong and won her first stakes race, the Miss Grillo Stakes (G3), at Belmont on Sept. 28, 2014, in easier fashion, beating Margaret Reay by three lengths.

Then she capped off her 2-year-old season with her win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) at Santa Anita.

Owned by Sheep Pond Partners, and trained by Chad Brown, Lady Eli finished the year with three wins and $719,000 in three starts.

While she had a very impressive season and was deserving of the Eclipse Award as 2-year-old champion, she lost out to Take Charge Brandi. In a sense, it was her only loss of the season.

Lady Eli was then given another deserving rest over the winter before beginning training for her 2015 season.

According to Brown, Lady Eli spent a "quiet winter down in Florida. We gave her some time off. We gradually started to pick up her training at Palm Meadows, and she’s picked it up nicely each week.”

They brought the now 3-year-old filly to Keeneland on April 1, where she began training for the Appalachian Stakes, a one-mile turf race.

“I liked the timing of it (the Appalachian Stake), get her a race over the Keeneland surface,” said Brown. “Kick off the year here and see how it goes.”

On Monday, April 6, Lady Eli worked five furlongs on a yielding turf course at Keeneland in 1:04.80, which pleased Brown.

“She looked really good,” said Brown. “She worked fabulous, so she’s ready to go for Sunday.”

Sunset Glow, who is by Exchange Rate-Perfectforthepart, by Dynaformer, was foaled n Kentucky on Feb. 20, 2012, by breeder Gayla Ranking/GLR Ranch.

Like her rival, Sunset Glow began her racing career as a 2-year-old in 2014, but raced more than Lady Eli, as she ran six times.

In her debut in a Maiden Special Weight at Presque Isle Downs on May 13, 2014, and ridden by Jeffrey Sanchez, she settled into third place behind the race leader, Lindy, but could not catch her and finished second to Lindy by a half length.

The gray filly then broke her maiden in her second outing, another Maiden Special Weight, this time at Belmont on June 6, 2014. With new jockey, Victor Espinoza aboard, Sunset Glow tried a different tactic and took an early lead, then went wire-to-wire to win by two lengths over Crown the Kitten.

In her next race, she was sent to England where she raced at Royal Ascot Racecourse and finished in second place in the Albany Stakes (Eng-G3) on June 20.

Sunset Glow returned home and got a much needed two-month rest, then headed to Del Mar for the Sorrento Stakes (G2) on Aug. 6. There, under Espinoza, who was now her regular jockey, Sunset Glow once again went wire-to-wire for a 3-1/4 length win over La Grange.

With that win in the books, Sunset Glow came back three weeks later on Aug. 30, for the Del Mar Debutante (G1). This time she did not take an early lead, but settled into fifth place in the nine-horse field before battling back around the final turn, taking the lead in the stretch, and winning by just a neck over Her Emmynency.

Sunset Glow then finished her year in the Breeders' Cup Fillies Turf at Santa Anita, where she once again took the early lead, but was caught in the stretch by eventual winner, Lady Eli.

At the end of the year, Sunset Glow, who is owned by Ten Broeck Farm and trained by Wesley Ward, had raced six times and scored three wins, three seconds and $557,645 in earnings.

After a restful winter break, Sunset Glow has had two workouts since arriving at Keeneland. On March 31, she breezed five furlongs in 1:02.80, then followed that up on April 5, with another five-furlong breeze, this time in 1:05.40.

So now things are all set for Sunday at Keeneland, as the two fillies – Lady Eli and Sunset Glow – enter the starting gate for the Appalachian Stakes to renew, what could very well end up being, a fun rivalry to watch.

Lady Eli will break from gate six under Ortiz Jr. in the seven-horse field, while Sunset Glow will break from gate four under new jockey Joel Rosario.

The other fillies in the race are Tiger Ride (ridden by Javier Castellano), Miss Temple City (John Velazquez), Urtheoneeyelove (Julien Leparoux), Late Spring (Joe Bravo), and Mizz Money (Francisco Torres).

The Appalachian is the fifth race on the Keeneland card on Sunday. Post time is scheduled for 3:09 p.m.