Sweet Melania launches 4-year-old season in Sand Springs
Multiple graded-stakes winner Sweet Melania, unraced since the first off-the-board performance of her life last fall, is set to launch her 4-year-old campaign in Saturday’s $100,000 Sand Springs.
A chestnut daughter of 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, owned by Robert and Lawana Low, Sweet Melania was last seen setting the pace before fading to be seventh in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) Oct. 10 at Keeneland.
Sweet Melania had never been worse than third prior to that race, winning the one-mile Wonder Again (G3) last June in her seasonal bow. In between she was beaten a nose when second in the Lake George (G3) at Saratoga.
“She’s a quality filly and, with the exception of her last start, she’s always put forth a good effort. So I’d expect her to do that this weekend,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I don’t know if she didn’t handle the turf course real well that day, but it was kind of the end of the season and we decided to freshen her up for this year.”
A $600,000 yearling, Sweet Melania won the 1 1/16-mile Jessamine (G2), was second by a neck to Crystalle in the P.G. Johnson and third by 1 1/2 lengths to Sharing in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf as a 2-year-old in 2019. She shows a steady string of works at Palm Beach Downs for her return, where she will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from Post 6 in a field of seven.
“She’s coming off the layoff where we gave her a little freshening up,” Pletcher said. “She’s been training great and we’ve been pointing for this for a while. Hopefully she comes back to her best.”
Among the competition is Apogee Bloodstock’s Abscond, winner of the 2019 Natalma (G1) prior to a seventh in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. By Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Blame, the 4-year-old filly has not raced since a runner-up finish in the Tepin last May at Churchill Downs. She has been beaten by less than a length in three consecutive races, including the Herecomesthebridge (G3) and Ginger Brew last winter at Gulfstream.
Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Tango Uniform Racing’s Feel Glorious is a multiple stakes winner that most recently ran third by a neck to multiple Grade 1 winner Got Stormy in the one-mile Honey Fox (G3) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream for trainer Christophe Clement.
“She ran very well. She came from off the pace and finished great, we just couldn’t quite get there,” Clement said. “She probably got beat a head and a neck, but not much. It was a very nice race on the way back. Let’s hope that she can do it again.”
Feel Glorious’ only other race at Gulfstream was a March 2019 optional claiming allowance win in her North American debut following starts in England and Germany. Four of her six career wins have come in stakes, three at Aqueduct and one at Saratoga.
“I think she looks well,” Clement said. “There’s still plenty of improvement to come regarding her shape and her coat. Her works have been fair. She’s never a great work horse in the morning. She’s sound, she’s happy. I’m running her back a bit quicker than I would have liked to, but it’s either that or ship her up north to run in mid-April and it just makes sense to not to ship her and to run in Florida, as we are stabled here at the moment.
“She’s great. She’s a wonderful horse to own,” he added. “She’s been really a lot of fun and she tries very hard. She’s 5, so we’ve been able to enjoy her for already two years. Let’s hope we can have the same kind of year this year.”
Junior Alvarado will be aboard from Post 2.
Completing the field are Niko’s Dream, who became a stakes winner in the 1 1/16-mile My Charmer Dec. 12 at Gulfstream; Art of Almost, fifth by 1 ¾ lengths in the Honey Fox; Sweet Bye and Bye, two lengths behind Zofelle when second in the Marshua’s River (G3) Jan. 23; and Runway Dreamer.