Line of Best Fit returns in Nellie Morse after costly stumble
Line of Best Fit. Photo by The Racing Biz.
From a Maryland Jockey Club release
Katherine Ball’s homebred Julerette, a winner of three straight races, will make her Maryland debut as the 2-1 program favorite in the $100,000 Nellie Morse.
Trained by Kentucky-based Ben Colebrook, Julerette spent last winter in South Florida where she was winless in three starts for trainer David Fawkes including her most recent stakes attempt, the seven-furlong White Pearl, last February.
The 5-year-old Successful Appeal mare’s current streak includes a pair of wins at one mile and another at 1 1/16 miles, each by growing margins. The past two have come in front-running fashion, capped by an 8 ¼-length romp Nov. 16 at Churchill Downs,
Julerette was entered but scratched from the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go going one mile Dec. 30 at Laurel before the final three races of that card were canceled due to deteriorating winter weather conditions. Feargal Lynch is named to ride from Post 3 of nine at 120 pounds.
Sheffield Stable’s stakes winner Line of Best Fit was among nine horses in the rescheduled Thirty Eight Go Go Jan. 8, but stumbled leaving the gate and lost rider Kevin Gomez. Third to win machine Ms Locust Point in the Willa On the Move Dec. 9 and champion Songbird in the Delaware Handicap (G1) last July, the 8-year-old mare will break from Post 7 with Gomez back aboard.
“She stumbled bad that day and didn’t get a chance to run. I breezed her last week and she was good and came back good. I talked with the owner and we decided she was going to run,” trainer Claudio Gonzalez said. “She grabbed a little her left front but it was nothing bad, nothing to worry about it. She came out of it good and she’s doing good. She’s run up against some good horses. If she wasn’t 100 percent we wouldn’t run. I’m very confident in her.”
Trainer Gary Capuano is hoping the distance will make a difference for ZWP Stable and Non Stop Stable’s multiple stakes-placed Lucky in Malibu, set to make her 4-year-old debut off a 14-race 2017 campaign that included three wins. She was fourth by 2 ¼ lengths in the six-furlong Politely Dec. 30 at Laurel last out, having gone into that race off a gate-to-wire triumph at the Nellie Morse distance Dec. 10.
“The two turns is a big thing with her. She’s really only run twice two turns and won both of them, other than the turf races. She broke her maiden going two turns and won a couple weeks back,” Capuano said. “She’s always a tough runner. I keep wanting to go two turns with her and this race came up. I know I have to give her a break sooner or later but she’s doing well and we want to see what the race looks like. She’s always tough, she always gives it everything she’s got.”
Indian Paint, Geisha runner-up Moon Virginia, Tiz Rude, Thirty Eight Go Go runner-up Sky Flower, In the Navy Now and Just Got Out, front-running winner of the 1 1/8-mile Ladies Handicap Jan. 21 at Aqueduct, round out the field.
