Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf: Saffie Joseph hopes pair can improve

Encouraged by their performances in the Grade 3 Suwanee River, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. entered Accomplished Girl and Sister Lou Ann in the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational (G2) while acknowledging they must be even better Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Gentry Farm’s Accomplished Girl rallied to finish second to Full Count Felicia in the one-mile Suwannee River on the Gulfstream turf December 30. Ken Ramsey’s homebred Sister Lou Ann was the leader into deep stretch before yielding to be third.

Accomplished Girl, a daughter of Street Boss out of a Twirling Candy mare, was a sprinter for the first six races of her career last year. She snagged her first graded victory, the Presque Island Downs Masters (G2) at 6 1/2 furlongs on Tapeta Sept 18, before Joseph gave her a break and brought her back in the Suwanee.

“It was her first time stretching out around two turns,” Joseph said. “She acted like she could do it, but until you do that you never know. This time it’s a bit further, a sixteenth further, and I think it’s within her reach.”

Accomplished Girl drew post no. 3 in a full field of 12 for the Filly and Mare Turf. Regular rider Edgard Zayas will be up.

“We had trained her toward that and that’s the reason we stretched her out, because she acted so nicely and she has a nice turn of foot,” Joseph said. “She had to wait and go around and the winner got the run up the inside. That was probably the difference between winning and losing. I feel like she goes in there with a good chance. She’s going to need to improve again. This is a tougher race.”

Joseph said Zayas will have to play the race the way it unfolds with the speedy 4-year-old filly.

“We’re not going to take anything away,” he said. “If she found herself on the lead, I think it’s no problem, and if not and we can get a nice stalking trip that’s fine also.”

Sister Lou Ann has far more route experience than her stablemate. She typically uses her speed to be on or close to the lead, which is what she did in the Suwanee River.

“She needs to improve again. She’s a filly that tries,” Joseph said. “Last time, I thought we had her as good as we could. She got a quite easy lead, but the first two ran by her quite easily.”

The Suwanee outing was enough for Joseph to give Sister Lou Ann a try in the Filly and Mare Turf at 1 1/16 miles, where she has two wins and a second in five starts. She will start from post no. 10 under Paco Lopez.

“She doesn’t have the turn of foot as them so maybe the extra distance can help her, but she needs to improve again,” he said. “It’s possible she could improve. She’s doing as good as she can be.”