Leave No Trace, Vedareo meet flashy maiden winners in Frizette
Sep 29, 2022
The Road to the Kentucky Oaks goes through New York on Sunday, as seven fillies square off in the $400,000 Frizette (G1). Held at Aqueduct because of construction at Belmont Park this fall, the one-turn mile affair is worth points on the 10-4-3-2-1 scale to the top five finishers. In addition, the Frizette serves as a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Leave No Trace aims to follow up on her 14.80-1 upset of the Spinaway (G1) at Saratoga. The Phil Serpe trainee, who had won her debut at the Spa as well, will try to stay perfect as she changes venue. Jockey Jose Lezcano is back aboard the rail-drawn filly.
Vedareo, a half-sister to 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) champion Vequist, is the only entrant proven at the distance. Representing the Vequist connections – as a Swilcan Stables homebred trained by Butch Reid – Vedareo romped in the Aug. 6 Sorority S. over a mile at Monmouth. She was reverting to the front-running tactics of her Parx debut, and rebounding from a troubled fifth in the Schuylerville (G3). Vedareo hopes to one-up Vequist, who was runner-up in the 2020 Frizette. Jose Ortiz picks up the mount.
American Rockette is herself a half-sister to a Frizette runner-up, Frank’s Rockette (2019), subsequently a multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire. Likewise trained by Bill Mott for owner/breeder Frank Fletcher, American Rockette was a better-than-appears fourth behind Leave No Trace in the Spinaway. The daughter of American Pharoah broke on the far outside, veered right, and found herself hopelessly back in last. Yet American Rockette rallied well, suggesting that she could have been involved in the finish with a decent break. A late-running debut winner in an off-the-turf Spa maiden, she reunites with Junior Alvarado.
The stakes-tested trio will clash with four Saratoga maiden winners.
Chocolate Gelato was a tiring third as the odds-on favorite in her unveiling, but took a leap forward next time in an 8 1/2-length rout. The Repole Stable/Todd Pletcher filly keeps Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle.
Although Raging Sea prevailed by a narrow margin at first asking, there was a big gap back to third. More significantly, the Chad Brown pupil is bred to excel going longer as a daughter of Curlin. Flavien Prat retains the mount.
The Great Maybe rolled to an eight-length debut score for Cherie DeVaux, while the John Terranova-trained You’re My Girl demolished New York-breds by 14 lengths in her premiere.
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