Fitful Skies Goes Long in Sheepshead Bay

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin hopes the extra ground will help Fitful Skies pick up her first victory in North America when the 5-year-old competes in the Grade 2, 1 3/8-mile Sheepshead Bay on May 24. The Sheepshead Bay, a turf race restricted to fillies and mares, is worth $200,000.

Fitful Skies, owned by Godolphin Racing, won her final start in Europe when she captured the Group 3, 1 3/8-mile Grosser Preis von German Tote Herbst Stutenpreis in September in Germany. She was then taken to North America to compete in the Grade 1, 1 ¼-mile E.P. Taylor in October at Woodbine, where she finished second by a head to Tannery.

Subsequently transferred from trainer Henri-Alex Pantall to McLaughlin, Fitful Skies has made one start this year, a ninth in the Grade 1, 1 1/16-mile Jenny Wiley on April 12 at Keeneland.

"She's a really nice filly," said McLaughlin. "She was second in the E.P. Taylor last fall, and then [Godolphin] sent her to us to be in America. We were happy to receive her. We entered her at Keeneland because we were having trouble getting a race for her, and it was a tough spot, a Grade 1. She didn't have a great trip and wants further, so everything points to a good effort in the Sheepshead Bay. She's a real nice filly, and we think we're going have a big year with her. Hopefully, it starts in the Sheepshead Bay."

With this upcoming Monday serving as the eight-year anniversary of Invasor's triumph in the 2006 Grade 1 Pimlico Special, McLaughlin reflected upon the future Hall of Famer's North American debut. Invasor won the Pimlico Special by 1 ¼ lengths, the start of a six-race winning streak that included the 2006 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic and culminated with a score in the 2007 Group 1 Dubai World Cup.

"We had no real expectations [for Invasor before the Pimlico Special]," said McLaughlin, who trained the son of Candy Stripes for Shadwell Stable. "That was the turning point. We actually were going to run in the $100,000 race (the William Donald Schaefer), but then we decided to run in the Pimlico Special because there were only six [horses] in there. And then he dropped back at the three-eighths pole like he was going to be last, and then he came back and won. It was a big turning point in his career and our thoughts on him."

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The Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay is shaping up to be a deep and competitive field of filly and mare turf marathoners. Chief among the likely starters is last year's Sheepshead Bay winner Tannery, trained by Alan Goldberg. The 5-year-old daughter of Dylan Thomas became a Grade 1 winner in 2013 when she took the E.P. Taylor at Woodbine. One start prior, she finished second to Laughing in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park, and closed her year out with a solid third-place showing against males in the Grade 3 Red Smith, in which she finished only a half-length behind eventual Grade 1 Man o' War winner Imagining.