Two-year-old filly Celtic Moonlight dominates maidens at the Gulf

Irish Eyes Stable's Celtic Moonlight graduated in style Sunday at Gulfstream Park, scoring a dominating eight-length victory in the eighth-race, a $55,000 maiden special weight race for juvenile fillies.

Ridden confidently by Luca Panici, the 2-year-old daughter of City Place pressed pacesetter Star Gala along the backstretch and around the far turn before drawing off  to reward her backers, who made the Florida-bred filly their 4-5 favorite in a field of seven.

City Place earned her odds-on favoritism in her career debut July 7, when she set a pressured pace before finishing second behind favored Callie California, who benefited from the contested pace and surged to a commanding off-the-pace score.

Trainer Michele Nihei expected Celtic Moonlight to come back stronger for her second career start and gained even more confidence in the homebred filly when she saw Panici take a quick peek back before asking for run leaving the turn into the homestretch.

"That was like a big flag. We all took a deep breath and we were like, 'Ok, he's good,'" Nihei said.

Celtic Moonlight had trained extremely well for her debut and her triumphant return.

"She's clearly a sprinter. She obviously has ability on the dirt. She's on the small side," Nihei said. "I felt she would be precocious. She does everything right. She's very athletic."

Celtic Moonlight ran 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05.5. Star Gala held second, 3 1/2 lengths ahead of Clouded Appeal.

Source: Gulfstream Park