Gulfstream: Civetta looks for 1st graded win in Herecomesthebride

Godolphin homebred stakes winner Civetta, who came up a neck short when she last faced graded company, adds blinkers for her latest attempt at earning graded-stakes credentials in Saturday’s Grade 3, $215,000 Herecomesthebride at Gulfstream Park.

The 38th running of the Herecomesthebride for 3-year-old fillies is scheduled for one mile on the grass.

Civetta will be making her third start of championship meet in the Herecomesthebride, having captured the 7 1/2-furlong Wait a While by a neck over Thanksgiving weekend and finishing third, beaten a half-length, in the one-mile Ginger Brew Jan. 4. The connections opted to bypass the 1 1/16-mile Sweetest Chant (G3) Feb. 1 to await this spot.

“We skipped the last race on purpose to wait for this and give her a little bit of a break,” said Godolphin’s director of bloodstock Michael Banahan, who oversees all of its U.S.-based runners. “She’d been on the go a little bit and we wanted to freshen her coming into the Herecomesthebride. Hopefully that will set us up nicely for this race.”

Civetta has been worse than third only once in five starts, when she ran fourth by two lengths in the 6 1/2-furlong Untapable last fall at Kentucky Downs, her largest margin of defeat. In her next start she rallied to be second by a neck in the six-furlong Matron (G3) at Aqueduct before heading south for the winter.

“She’s always performed well for us,” Banahan said. “When she ran last year at Kentucky Downs she ran into a bit of trouble and got bounced around a little bit. It was only her second start and we figured there were some nice fillies in that race so she should only improve off that, which she did. We’re very pleased with her.”

Civetta drew post 6 in a field of 10 and will be ridden for the third straight time by Irad Ortiz Jr.

“She’s a sweet little filly, not very big, and we sort of felt that turf was the right spot for her. We just started building up distance with her,” Banahan said. “She’s got a great turn of foot, but you have to sort of produce her late. We’ve got the right man on her in Irad so hopefully he’ll be able to do that Saturday. It’s a step up in quality to a graded-stakes race but we’re anxious to see what she can do. Hopefully it can be a springboard to a nice year for her on the turf.”

Mrs Worldwide is a two-time stakes winner on the dirt who will try turf for the first time in her second start as a 3-year-old after finishing a distant fourth in the seven-furlong Gasparilla Jan. 11 at Tampa Bay Downs. Prior to that she captured the 6 1/2-furlong Juvenile Filly Sprint against fellow Florida-breds Nov. 16 at Gulfstream and Tampa’s six-furlong Sandpiper on Dec. 7.

“Disappointing in her last start, never fired, but she’s certainly got some talent,” trainer Brian Lynch said. “We’ve been very happy with the way she’s worked on the grass. We’re sort of experimenting a little bit but feel confident she’ll run well. She’s handled it very, very well in her works.”

Mrs Worldwide has had four breezes since late January on the grass at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. Out of the Scat Daddy mare Scatmeifyoucan, she did run third in the Presque Isle Debutante over its all-weather surface last September.

“There’s grass in that family. The mare has dropped a couple of decent turf horses so before we regroup completely after that last race, we thought we’d give her a try on the turf while we’ve got the opportunity,” Lynch said. “Watching her work and watching her gallop out, I feel like she’s a very ratable filly. It’s not like she needs the lead or she’s keen, so I figure she should be able to get the mile.”

Luis Saez rides from post 2.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has won the Herecomesthebride three times since 2016, including last year with Pounce, and is represented Saturday by the trio of Classic Q, Smudge and Vixen. Vixen ran second in the one-mile Natalma (G1) over Woodbine’s turf and was sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall, making her sophomore debut with a 2 1/4-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Sweetest Chant Feb. 1 at Gulfstream.

Smudge is a $525,000 daughter of Quality Road who graduated by a neck in her third and most recent start Jan. 19 at Gulfstream going 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather Tapeta course. Classic Q also exits a maiden score, hers by 4 1/2 lengths Jan. 26 at one mile on the Gulfstream turf.

Completing the field are Sweetest Chant runner-up Ramsey Pond, also third in the Wait a While; Daisy Flyer, unraced since finishing off the board in the Miss Grillo (G2) last October; Special Aviator and Bellavinino, respectively 1-2 in the one-mile Our Dear Peggy on the Gulfstream turf last fall; and Grade A, a front-running maiden winner against Florida-breds at the course and distance Feb. 6, her grass debut.