Irish Mission, Aigue Marine Prep for Flower Bowl, Rodeo Drive

Trainer Christophe Clement sent out a pair of turf mares on Saturday morning at Belmont Park to log their final breezes in advance of the Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl.

 

According to Clement, either Irish Mission or Aigue Marine will enter the Flower Bowl, while the other will be pointed to the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita Park.

 

"Irish Mission had a very nice work," said Clement. "We'll see how she comes out of it, but the plan is to run her in the [Grade 1, $600,000] Flower Bowl or the Rodeo Drive. She might go to California; she likes a very fast turf course. Aigue Marine also worked well; she will go to the other [race], which in this case is probably the Flower Bowl. We'll see how she comes out of it. I've got two fillies who are training well; one will go [to California] and one will stay here."

 

Irish Mission, winner of the Grade 3, 1 3/8-mile Glens Falls on August 23 at Saratoga Race Course in her latest start, went four furlongs in 48.02 seconds over a very firm Belmont turf course. The daughter of Giant's Causeway was transferred to Clement at the start of her 5-year-old campaign, and earned her first victory of 2014 in the Glens Falls after near misses in the Grade 3 Matchmaker at Monmouth Park and the inaugural running of the two-mile Belmont Gold Cup against males.

 

Aigue Marine breezed five furlongs on the turf in 1:01.24 in company with European import Belle de Lawers. Most recently fifth in the Glens Falls, Aigue Marine has one win and two seconds through five starts in 2014, with her lone victory coming in the Grade 3, 1 3/8-mile Robert G. Dick Memorial on July 5 at Delaware Park.

 

Clement's Jockey Club Gold Cup hopeful, Tonalist, is scheduled to breeze early Sunday morning, according to the trainer.

 

Source: NYRA Communications