Praying winning the 2025 Prioress, Janet Napolitano Photo
Keith McCalmont
Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred Hen Party will look to celebrate making the grade as she makes her dirt debut in Sunday’s Grade 3, $225,000 Prioress, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Eoin Harty, the Into Mischief bay enters the six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies from Grade 3 turf placings sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs in the Mamzelle [3rd] in April at Churchill Downs and the Soaring Softly [2nd] on June 7 here last out during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
Hen Party exited the inside post under Flavien Prat in the Soaring Softly and dropped back to last-of-7 and nine lengths off the pace after the start as Slay the Day marked the half-mile in 44.05 seconds over the firm footing. Hen Party saved ground through the turn and showed a tremendous turn-of-foot from the top of the lane home to pass all but Slay the Day, who scored by 2 3/4-lengths in a final time of 1:01.02.
Harty trained Hen Party’s dam, Fair Maiden, an omni-surface star with wins on synthetic, dirt and turf, including a Grade 1 victory over the Santa Anita Park main track in the 2020 La Brea. Hen Party is also a half-sister to the Harty-trained First Resort, who finished second in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special over the main track here in 2024 two starts before taking the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club on the Churchill dirt.
“Her mother was quirky – but she’s quirky, too,” Harty said of Hen Party. “In her last race, going down the backstretch, it looked like she was pulling herself up and then all of a sudden she took off and made a huge late run.”
Harty said Hen Party will be equipped with blinkers on Sunday.
“She can be her own worst enemy, so I’m putting blinkers on her for the first time and that might hold her attention a little longer,” Harty said. “She’s worked and trained in them, and it seems to have made a difference, but you never know until game day.”
Harty said he is hopeful that Hen Party will be in closer contention in Sunday’s six-horse field
“Absolutely, I don’t think she can afford to drop herself out like she did last time,” Harty said. “You do that and lose contact with the field, it’s all pretty much over. Hopefully, with the blinkers, she’ll be more focused.”
Hen Party trained over dirt at The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Kentucky last summer before shipping in to Harty. She worked over synthetic at Turfway Park ahead of her first-out maiden win in October at Presque Isle Downs and concluded an abbreviated campaign with an off-the-board effort in a turf allowance sprint at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
The talented bay returned to action over the winter with a pair of starts at Turfway Park topped by a stalking score in the Serena’s Song when two lengths better than Cadenza, who exited that effort to win the Take The A Train on turf at Belmont at the Big A.
Hen Party has worked mainly over synthetic at Turfway Park since her Soaring Softly effort, but did post a bullet half-mile work in 48.20 seconds August 10 over the Keeneland main track.
“I took her down to Keeneland for a refresher course and she worked very well, so I’m hoping for the best,” Harty said. “I don’t see any reason she shouldn’t be able to run on the dirt. All the signs are positive.”
Dylan Davis picks up the mount aboard Hen Party from the outermost post 6.
Spendthrift Farm’s Goodall [post 4, John Velazquez] will look to provide Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen with his third win in this event following past success with Vertical Oak [2017] and Wicked Halo [2022].
The Yaupon bay captured the six-furlong Purple Martin in March at Oaklawn Park ahead of a distant fifth in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Eight Belles in May at Churchill. She has made her last three outings at the Spa, winning the six-furlong Jersey Girl in June, landing second in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Victory Ride on July 10 and a 6 3/4-length third in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Test presented by Ticketmaster on August 8.
Bred by Spendthrift’s stallion sales manager Mark Toothaker with William Heiligbrodt and Corrine Heiligbrodt, Goodall was a $525,000 purchase at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
Mashallah [post 3, Manny Franco] has won 3-of-4 starts and steps into graded company for the first time while looking to run her win streak to three.
Trained by Brendan Walsh for JR Ranch, the Maxfield bay sparkled at first asking with a frontrunning 3 3/4-length score in April at Keeneland, stopping the clock for six furlongs in 1:09.49 to earn a field-best 106 Beyer.
Mashallah failed to fire second out when off-the-board in May traveling one-mile at Churchill, but drew off to win by seven lengths in a 6 1/2-furlong optional-claiming sprint on July 4 here, stopping the clock in 1:16.69. The $1.25 million OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase arrives from a frontrunning 5 1/2-length score in the seven-furlong Tyson Gilpin on August 1 at Colonial Downs – the third-place finisher of that event, Wrong Shoes, returned to win a starter allowance at Ellis Park.
Mashallah, out of the winning Quiet American mare All in With Aces, is a half-sister to Grade 1-winning millionaire Hard Aces and Grade 3-placed Astrollinthepark.
Arindel’s Florida homebred Mythical [post 1, Edgard Zayas] has won 7-of-12 starts, including local wins last year in the Listed Tremont versus males and Grade 3 Adirondack as part of a 5-for-6 juvenile campaign.
Trained by Jorge Delgado, the St. Patrick’s Day bay has won twice in six sophomore outings – both sprinting six furlongs at Gulfstream Park – taking the Any Limit in March and the FHBPA Sophomore Fillies versus fellow Florida-breds in April.
Mythical, out of the winning Brethren mare Lailoni, has made her last three outings at the Spa, landing third in the Jersey Girl, eighth in the Victory Ride and fourth last out in her turf debut in the Listed Galway on August 15, which was won by the aforementioned Cadenza.
Also entered are allowance winner Minute by Minute [post 5, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] for five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown; and maiden winner Vekoma’s Diva [post 2, Junior Alvarado] for trainer George Weaver.
The Prioress is slated as Race 4 on Sunday’s 12-race card which also offers the Grade 1, $300,000 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful [Race 10] and the $150,000 Disco Partner [Race 11]. First post is 12:05 p.m. Eastern.
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