Streaking fillies bred for success

Stave and Romantic Moment both make their stakes debut in the Grade 3, $100,000 Regret Stakes on Saturday night under the lights in Louisville.

Stave comes off back-to-back victories, both with jockey Gabriel Saez, who retains the mount Saturday. The Ghostzapper filly won her maiden by 6 3/4 lengths on April 20 at Keeneland, stalking the pace and then pouncing with a vengeance in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. She employed similar tactics when stretching out slightly to the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Regret in a Churchill allowance on May 19, winning by 1 1/2 lengths.

Stave, who races as a homebred for Hinkle Farms and is trained by Larry Jones, is out of Buy the Barrel, who won four stakes, including the Grade 3 Allaire duPont Distaff. The mare is the dam of Mise En Rose, multiple Group 3-placed in England. Turf performers in the family include Demarcation, a graded stakes winner on grass at Churchill.

“We trained her mom for the Hinkles, and she was a very nice horse in her own right,” Jones’s assistant Corey York said. “The Hinkles are great people to train for, and it’s rewarding to have her offspring show some potential as well.”

Romantic Moment has won back-to-back races at 1 1/8 miles on turf. A Flatter filly trained by Shug McGaughey, Romantic Moment most recently won an allowance on yielding ground April 26 at Keeneland over Cash Out, who

is also back for the Regret.

Romantic Moment, a rare $425,000 yearling purchase by the Janney family, is looking to emulate her own family’s success on turf at Churchill. Dam Kiss the Devil and halfsister Kiss Moon were both Grade 3 winners on this course, while another half sister, Kiss Mine, was graded placed here.

Romantic Moment, with Jose Ortiz in to ride, and Stave drew posts 11 and 13, respectively, in the 13-horse field.

Secret Message finished second in the Hilltop Stakes on May 18 at Pimlico in her first start for the Graham Motion barn.

Kabella and Beyond Blame were first and second in the Allen “Black Cat” LaCombe Memorial at Fair Grounds, but were eighth and sixth in the Grade 3 Edgewood Stakes over this course last month.

Heavenly Love won the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland on dirt last October, but has not finished on the board since.

Finess Bere, a minor stakes winner in her native France, is looking to get back on track after finishing eighth in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on dirt last out. Completing the field are the synthetic stakes winners Condolida and Go Noni Go, dirt stakes winner She’s Pretty Lucky, allowance winner Go Google Yourself, and the maiden Lemon Princess.