Romantica May Point to Beverly D
Bloodlines in international turf racing do not come any better than those of 2013 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf runner-up Romantica. A daughter of world champion turf sire Galileo out of Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Banks Hill, Romantica was born to be of serious substance. A winner of the Group I Prix Jean Romanet in her 4-year-old season last year while with Andre Fabre, the refined bay mare looked like a possible winner on racing's biggest day in November at Santa Anita, only to fall less than a length short of Beverly D. winner Dank.
Turned over to American trainer Bill Mott by owner Juddmonte Farm, Romantica had an inauspicious 2014 debut - finishing fourth in the Grade III Bewitch Stakes on April 24. Since, she has been training well for her new conditioner and may get a crack at revenge on Dank in August.
"We're looking to improve with Romantica off the (Bewitch)," said Mott. "We're nominated to the Beverly D. and our major goal with a filly like her is to win a Grade I."
Like Dank, Romantica is a lover of firm ground and may appreciate the fast going that often occurs at the Chicagoland oval in mid-summer. Juddmonte has taken the Beverly D. once before - with Banks Hill's three-quarter sister Heat Haze in 2002.
A race to watch closely for possible Beverly D. contestants in Europe this weekend is the Group I Pretty Polly Stakes at The Curragh on Sunday, June 29. Possible to compete there are Lady Rothschild's Thistle Bird, as well as Ali Saeed's 2013 winner Ambivalent. Both mares are Beverly D.-nominated, with the former under reasonable consideration to make the trans-Atlantic trek.
On the local front, Nancy Vanier's 6-year-old mare Kepi seems to be in peak shape after easily taking an off-the-turf running of the restricted Lincoln Heritage Stakes over Richard Otto's improving Chris Block trainee Alette and Hernandez Racing Club's defending champion La Tia. In 2013, La Tia used the Lincoln Heritage en route to a credible fifth in the Beverly D.
While La Tia is now more likely to focus on shorter races - notably the Grade III Ontario Matron on Polytrack next out at Woodbine - Kepi and Alette will be pointed toward the course and distance prep for the Beverly D. - the Grade III Modesty Handicap on July 12 (Million Preview Day).