Republique gets stakes shot

Republique, a half-sister to Preakness winner Rombauer, steps up into the stakes ranks Saturday in Delaware Park’s Grade 3 Delaware Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles.

A homebred daughter of Strong Mandate trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. for John and Diane Fradkin, Republique is unbeaten from two starts, both over Gulfstream Park’s Tapeta surface.

“Early on, she had just trained average,” said Joseph. “We had a little setback and gave her some time off. When she came back, she really turned around.”

Joseph wasn’t expecting a victory in Republique’s debut at 5 1/2 furlongs on April 14, as he thought the distance would be too short, but the filly came through with a stalking score.

“She was able to overcome it and we then thought she had a little bit of class about her,” he said.

Republique successfully stretched out around two turns for her second start, a first-level allowance with a $75,000 claiming option on May 29.

Rombauer won on turf, synthetic, and dirt, and Joseph hopes Republique will prove as versatile. Her last three breezes on the dirt at Palm Meadows “have been as good as a horse can work,” he said.

“If she’s as good on the dirt as she is on the Tapeta, she should have a very good chance,” Joseph said.

Shotgun Hottie, the 5-2 morning line favorite, looks like the horse to beat adding Lasix for trainer William Morey. After winning Aqueduct’s Ruthless at seven furlongs on Feb. 6, the Gun Runner filly finished second in the one-mile Busher on March 5 at Aqueduct before placing third in the Grade 3 Gazelle at nine furlongs there on April 9. She’ll rally from off the pace under Trevor McCarthy.

Morey said the 84-day layoff coming into the Delaware Oaks was by design. “She had three hard races in a row, so we gave her a little break,” said Morey.

Midnight Stroll won the Sophomore Fillies at Tampa Bay going seven furlongs on March 27 before finishing a troubled ninth in Pimlico’s Black-Eyed Susan. “We got knocked off stride and she dropped back three or four lengths in an instant,” said trainer John Terranova.

Terranova noted that he “loved what he saw” from Midnight Stroll’s most recent breeze and wouldn’t mind if Midnight Stroll was a “little more engaged” in the early stages of the Delaware Oaks.

Chardonnay prepped for the Delaware Oaks with a gateto-wire triumph in an entrylevel allowance with a $62,500 claiming option at Pimlico on May 19. Trainer Michael Stidham is very pleased with the Candy Ride filly’s recent training at Delaware and confirmed that the instructions to Jaime Rodriguez will be to go to the lead.

Unadulterated was fourth to Chardonnay at Pimlico, and rebounded with a frontrunning win in an entry-level allowance at Delaware on June 4. Trainer Brittany Russell said the Mohaymen filly “prefers to be showing the way,” but that she’s versatile enough to sit off the lead in a good stalking position if necessary.

Stakes winners Morning Matcha and Sandstone, and recent maiden graduate Frippet are also entered.