My Miss Lilly, Strike Power easing into 4-year-old seasons

Courtlandt Farms’ graded stakes winners My Miss Lilly and Strike Power are training toward their 4-year-old debuts in Mark Hennig’s care at Gulfstream Park, with the former set to go in a $52,000 allowance optional claiming event Friday carded as Race 2. 

My Miss Lilly earned a spot in last year’s Kentucky Oaks after getting up to win the Gazlle (G2) at Aqueduct. She finished third in the Busher and Gulfstream’s Forward Gal (G3) prior to the breakthrough. The daughter of Tapit has been away since a third-place run in the Mother Goose (G2) at Belmont Park last June.

“We’re going to go one race at a time,” Hennig said. “This is a mile race on Friday, two other than. Hopefully it sets us up for returning to graded stakes fields again after that.”

After a break at Donald and Donna Adams’ Courtlandt Farms in Ocala, Fla., My Miss Lilly returned to the work tab mid-December. She breezed consistently and put in a bullet five furlongs back on Feb. 5.

My Miss Lilly, a $670,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, is the 6-5 morning line favorite in Friday's six-horse field. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is named to ride.

The close second 7-5 choice is Tweeting, a 5-year-old mare trained by Jorge Navarro who was second at this distance Jan. 16. Pink Sands, trained by Shug McGaughey, is the third choice at 7-2. The 4-year-old filly won a seven-furlong allowance by 3 ¾-lengths at Gulfstream Dec. 27.

Post time is 1:05 p.m. ET.

Strike Power, winner of Gulfstream’s Swale (G3) a year ago, has two registered three-furlong breezes, including a Feb. 11 work in 36.56. He also received a break at Courtlandt Farms before returning to Hennig.

“We did a couple quarters,” Hennig said of getting Strike Power back on the work tab. “We just went easy, then he had his first three-eighths the other day. Still got a ways to go but he’s doing very well.”

Strike Power won by eight lengths on debut in the last week of his 2-year-old season, then returned to win the Swale Stakes (G3) before trying the Kentucky Derby trail. He was second behind Promises Fulfilled in the Fountain of Youth (G2), but finished off the board in his next four starts, including a try on the turf at Saratoga. 

As for whether Strike Power remains sprinting on dirt this year, Hennig said, “I think we’ll play that by ear. We've got plenty of time to think about it.”