Sky My Sky Set for Gulfstream Stakes Debut in Sanibel Island

Having finally found her comfort zone on turf, John Oxley’s Sky My Sky is set to make a belated stakes debut in Saturday’s $75,000 Sanibel Island Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

The Mark Casse-trained filly, who started to live up to her potential upon the switch to turf during the Championship Meet, is scheduled to face 11 rivals on grass in Saturday’s mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

“She’s a filly we always thought a lot of, but she just couldn’t get her act together. We always considered her one of our better fillies and she disappointed time after time,” Casse said. “She seems to have found her niche.”

Sky My Sky made four starts on dirt without a victory during her juvenile campaign, her best placing being a second-place finish at Saratoga behind Nickname, the Steve Asmussen-trained filly who went on to win the Frizette (G1) in her next start.

“It wasn’t like she was running terrible, but she wasn’t performing the way we had expected. She has a big pedigree and she cost a lot of money,” Casse said. “She trained like a good horse, but she hadn’t shown us that.”

In her turf and 2016 debut, the daughter of Bernardini was bumped at the start of a five-furlong dash before closing strongly to finish second, beaten by three-quarters of a length.

“We thought she had a big shot to win. She had a troubled trip the first time. She probably deserved to win that day,” Casse said.

Away from the gate alertly and cleanly in her second turf start, Sky My Sky set a quick pace and drew off to score by nearly three lengths at 7 ½ furlongs.

“We were very encouraged by that,” said Casse, who named Paco Lopez to ride the Kentucky-bred filly. “We always thought she had a lot of talent. It just took her a lot of time to display it.”

Sky My Sky is slated to face several more precocious rivals, including Mathis Stable LLC’s Lira and Larkin Armstrong’s Harmonize.

Todd Pletcher-trained Lira won her first three starts, including stakes at Gulfstream Park West and Gulfstream Park, before finishing second behind the Casse-trained Catch a Glimpse, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) winner, in the Herecomesthebride (G3) at Gulfstream Feb. 27.

Bill Mott-trained Harmonize broke her maiden in the P.G. Johnson Stakes at Saratoga in her second lifetime start before prevailing in the Jessamine (G3) at Keeneland last fall. The daughter of Scat Daddy has been idle since finishing a troubled seventh behind Catch a Glimpse in the Juvenile Fillies Turf Oct. 30.