McPeek savoring final months of Daddys Lil Darling’s career

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – This side of Chad – the Thoroughbred trainer whose gross domestic product might have exceeded that of the African nation by now – there are a few horses who will be given a legitimate chance by horseplayers Saturday to win the 29th Beverly D. at Arlington Park.

One of those, Daddys Lil Darling, is among the five fillies and mares in the $600,000 Beverly D. not trained by Chad Brown, who will be gunning for an unprecedented fourth straight victory in the Grade 1 turf race. He will be represented by four of the nine starters: Sistercharlie and Fourstar Crook, two of the favorites, and Inflexibility and Thais, two longer shots.

Kenny McPeek, who trains Daddys Lil Darling for the Normandy Farm of Nancy Polk, could almost be heard shrugging his shoulders through the phone when discussing Brown’s domination earlier this week from Saratoga.

“He’s got such a deep bench and is in such an enviable position,” said McPeek, who will be on hand Saturday. “The thing is, we’ve just got to worry about our filly and give her every possible chance to win.”

For all McPeek has accomplished in a 33-year training career – more than 1,600 wins, including 80 in graded stakes, and nearly $77 million in stable earnings – he had never won a Grade 1 with a filly or mare on turf until Daddys Lil Darling captured the American Oaks last December at Santa Anita.

“She’s been real special to be around right from the start,” said McPeek. “Anybody who trains horses would love to be around one like her. She does everything right. I’m sure this will be her last year to race, so I’m already thinking about how hard it’s going to be to replace her.”

Daddys Lil Darling is a Normandy Farm homebred by Scat Daddy and out of Miss Hot Salsa, who produced the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner, Mongolian Saturday. (Both the sire and dam have since died.) The 4-year-old bay filly will break from post 1 in the 1 3/16-mile Beverly D. and will be ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., the Kentucky-based standout jockey who guided her to a 2 1/4-length victory in the local prep, the July 7 Modesty.

“Coming in off the Modesty, winning like she did over the surface, we have to go into the Beverly D. with a lot of confidence,” said Hernandez.

The Beverly D. is a Win and You’re In qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, which will be run at 1 3/8 miles over the Churchill Downs turf on Nov. 3. McPeek said that should be a good distance for Daddys Lil Darling, although he thinks the Saturday distance should suit her, too.

“It all depends on the pace, the setup, how the rider times things.” he said.

“It can be tricky. There are a lot of factors beyond distance that come into play.”

Daddys Lil Darling, an earner of more than $1.3 million with 11 firsts or seconds from 19 career starts, has run several powerful races within the last year, starting with a romp in the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs and a runner-up finish in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland and continuing through her triumphs in the American Oaks and Modesty.

McPeek called her effort in the Modesty “very impressive,” and the filly’s career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 100 compares favorably with the other race favorites.

“She’s trained really well at Keeneland since the last race,” he said. “I’d love for her to get one of these Grade 1’s against older horses, although I know these hoops aren’t easy to jump through.”

Ideally, said McPeek, Daddys Lil Darling will pull a mild upset Saturday to punch her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup, making her schedule between now and then a bit easier to map out.

“Depending on how this race goes, I’d maybe like to run her in one of the Kentucky Downs races and then maybe at Keeneland,” he said. “I’ll definitely keep her in the Midwest.”

Daddys Lil Darling was scheduled to arrive here Friday following a seven-hour van ride from Keeneland, along with stablemates Princess Warrior and Deadline for the Grade 3 Pucker Up on the Saturday undercard. “We’ll have her there in plenty of time to get all settled in,” said McPeek.

Among the other non-Brown contenders in the Beverly D. is Athena, who will try to become just the second 3-year-old to win the race, following Euro Charline in 2014. Athena won the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks last month for Aidan O’Brien. Dona Bruja dead-heated for second in this race last year as the 2-1 favorite, and returns for trainer Ignacio Correas.

Athena, who arrived Monday with the other Europeans, was scheduled to train here for the first time Thursday after clearing quarantine. Dona Bruja jogged Wednesday in her first time back at Arlington after breezing a half-mile Monday at Keeneland in 48.80 seconds.