Wishing Well: Fifth Commandment Ready

Adhering to the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” Jim Cassidy will saddle Fifth Commandment in a bid to win Sunday’s $70,000 Wishing Well Stakes at about 6 ½ furlongs on turf.

Fifth Commandment was 10th and last, beaten 14 lengths in the Grade III Monrovia Stakes at about 6 ½ furlongs on the turf on Jan. 2. The Irish-bred daughter of Holy Roman Emperor prompted the pace while second for a half-mile before weakening.

It was her first race since last Aug. 19, and Cassidy says Fifth Commandment was in dire need of the race and should benefit when she runs in the Wishing Well against win machine Unzip Me and eight others. The race for fillies and mares, 4-years-old and up, will be run over the same course as the Monrovia.

“She just needed the race desperately,” Cassidy said of the Monrovia. “I missed a bunch of training with her. She showed too much speed in the Monrovia but I’m trying her down the hill again.”

Fifth Commandment was third in her U.S. debut in a turf sprint at Hollywood Park last June, then was unplaced in two stakes at a mile on the grass at Del Mar last summer.

“She doesn’t want a mile,” Cassidy said. “She was OK, but she was all out to try and get what she got. She’s strictly a sprinter.”

Fifth Commandment races for Fontana Racing, LLC, nom de course of Martin Kistler of Pacific Palisades.

The field for the Wishing Well: Givine, Joe Talamo, 5-2; Remit, Corey Nakatani, 12-1; Catchy Tune, Martin Garcia, 4-1; Elle Special, Freddy Lenclud, 30-1; Win for M’lou, Victor Espinoza, 20-1; Unzip Me, Rafael Bejarano, 8-5; Fifth Commandment, Mike Smith, 15-1; Dontbeshy I’ll Buy, Alonso Quinonez, 30-1; and Teroda, Joel Rosario, 7-2.