Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Vibrance stands out in Starlet
CYPRESS, Calif. – Through late summer and early autumn, Vibrance showed steady improvement, enough to finish third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2.
Vibrance was a 35-1 outsider in the Juvenile Fillies when she finished six lengths behind race winner Jaywalk. In Saturday’s Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos, Vibrance will be at the center of attention for bettors in an excellent field of six.
“I was super pleased she could get some Breeders’ Cup black type,” trainer Michael McCarthy said earlier this week.
“She came out of that race in good order or we wouldn’t be thinking about this race.”
In the $300,000 Starlet, Vibrance drew the rail and will race against three stakes winners – Chasing Yesterday, Mother Mother, and Oxy Lady. Trainer Doug O’Neill starts two recent maiden race winners – Enaya Alrabb and Sold It.
Chasing Yesterday and Mother Mother are exciting prospects trained by Bob Baffert, who won the 2017 Starlet with Dream Tree.
The Starlet, run at 1 1/16 miles for 2-year-old fillies, is the seventh race on a nine-race program that begins at 12:30 p.m. Pacific.
KEY CONTENDERS
Vibrance, by Violence Last 3 Beyers: 84-79-75
◗ Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Donna and Jim Daniell, Vibrance won a maiden special weight race at a mile by 5 1/4 lengths at Del Mar on Aug. 29, and was a wellbeaten second to Bellafina in the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Sept. 29.
◗ In the BC Juvenile Fillies, Vibrance was third by 1 1/2 lengths on the turn. She finished a half-length behind runner-up Restless Rider.
“With a better trip she could have been second,” McCarthy said. “She had a little bit of traffic on the far turn. She came with a run.”
◗ Flavien Prat will ride Vibrance for the first time in the Starlet. McCarthy said the inside post is not a concern.
“Hopefully, the length of the stretch at Los Al will help her get a Grade 1,” he said. “She doesn’t want to be too far off of it. Hopefully we can get a nice stalking trip.”
Chasing Yesterday, by Tapit Last 3 Beyers: 78-88-60
◗ The Starlet will be the first start around two turns for Chasing Yesterday. She is by a proven route stallion and happens to be a half-sister to American Pharoah, the 2015 Triple Crown winner.
◗ Chasing Yesterday has won two sprint stakes, including the three-runner Desi Arnaz Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 12.
Mother Mother, by Pioneerof the Nile Last 3 Beyers: 78-67-87
◗ Mother Mother, who tends to race near the front, won the Rags to Riches Stakes at a mile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2. She was second to Bellafina in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs on Sept. 1.
◗ Mother Mother will be ridden by Florent Geroux, who was aboard for the victory in the Rags to Riches. This will be the first mount at Los Alamitos for Geroux.
Oxy Lady, by Oxbow Last 3 Beyers: 94-69-54
◗ Oxy Lady recorded a shocking win at 36-1 in the Grade 3 Tempted Stakes at a mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 2, overcoming brief trouble before drawing away to win by five lengths.
◗ The Tempted was the stakes debut for Oxy Lady, who won a maiden special weight race at a mile by 5 3/4 lengths at Belterra Park in Ohio on Sept. 3. Trainer Jack Sisterson, a former assistant to O’Neill who began training earlier this year, views the Starlet as a chance to prove Oxy Lady is among the most promising 2-year-old fillies in the nation.
“It won’t be easy, but all the credit to the filly,” Sisterson said. “She deserves this Grade 1 opportunity. It’s up to her to show the rest of the country how good she can be.”