LAUREL, Md. – BB Horses’ claimer-turned-multiple stakes-winning filly Miss Leslie, beaten a neck in her attempt at a fourth straight win, will go about starting a new streak in Saturday’s $100,000 Nellie Morse at Laurel Park.
The 39th edition of the $100,000 Nellie Morse for fillies and mares 4 and older and the 68th edition of the Campbell for 4-year-olds and up, both going about 1 1/16 miles, are among six stakes, two graded, worth $900,000 in purses on a 10-race program.
Serving as co-headliners are the $250,000 Barbara Fritchie (G3) for fillies and mares 4 and up and the $250,000 General George (G3) for 4-year-olds and up, both sprinting seven furlongs. Sophomores will be in the spotlight in the $100,000 Miracle Wood going one mile and $100,000 Wide Country for fillies sprinting seven furlongs.
First race post time is 12:25 p.m. The Nellie Morse is carded as Race 6 (2:51 p.m.) while the Campbell will go off as Race 7 (3:23 p.m.).
Sent to New York by Claudio Gonzalez, Maryland’s leading trainer the past five years, 4-year-old Miss Leslie cuts back in the Nellie Morse after coming up just short in the 1 1/8-mile Ladies Jan. 16 at Aqueduct.
“Over there, it’s not easy. They have really good horses there, and no Lasix, too. For my filly, I believe she needs the Lasix,” Gonzalez said. “That’s why we come back now to Laurel with the Lasix. We’re going to be OK.
“But she ran big the last time,” he added. “She tries all the time, this horse. She’s a very good filly, and we got lucky with her.”
Claimed for $25,000 out of a maiden triumph Nov. 13, 2020 at Laurel, Miss Leslie has won six times for Gonzalez including the 1 1/16-mile Anne Arundel County to cap her juvenile campaign.
The daughter of Grade 1 winner Paynter won the 1 1/16-mile Weber City Miss in her third start at 3, earning an automatic berth to the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at historic Pimlico Race Course, where she ran fifth to subsequent Iowa Oaks (G3) winner Army Wife. She then finished off the board in five straight starts, including the Monmouth Oaks (G3) and Charles Town Oaks (G3) before returning to the winner’s circle in an optional claiming allowance last October at Delaware Park.
From there, Miss Leslie won the about 1 1/16-mile Thirty Eight Go Go by a half-length and 1 1/8-mile Carousel by 3 ¾ lengths to end 2021. Both races came at Laurel, where she owns five wins, two seconds and a third in 10 career tries.
“We’re local. We’re there, so I think that helps us. She runs good there all the time. I believe she’s going to be tough,” Gonzalez said. “She’s just a good filly. She’s smart. All the time in the first half of the race she just relaxes, and then she makes one move.”
Miss Leslie is another reclamation project for Gonzalez like Harpers First Ride, also by Paynter, who he claimed for $30,000 in November 2019 and turned into an 11-time winner topped by victories in the historic Pimlico Special (G3), Deputed Testamony, Richard W. Small and Native Dancer in 2020. He is on the comeback trail after winning his most recent start in the 2021 Deputed Testamony last July.
“She always had run good, and she was a good-looking filly. I had some luck with the Paynters. I claimed Harpers and had some good luck with him, and now her. I thought she was worth it,” Gonzalez said. “She was waiting for the longer races. Instead of running the one turn, when she got around two turns I thought she’d be really good. She loves it.”
Angel Cruz rides Miss Leslie from Post 6 in a field of seven at topweight of 126 pounds, yielding from four to eight pounds to her rivals.
Among them are a pair of New York shippers, Frost Point and Golden Plume. Juddmonte homebred Golden Plume broke her maiden in debut last January on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs but has gone winless in four subsequent starts. Godolphin homebred Frost Point, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, was a 7 ¾-length winner of her most recent start, an open 1 1/16-mile allowance Jan. 27 at Laurel.
Also in the field are multiple stakes winners Artful Splatter and Kiss the Girl. James Wolf’s Artful Splatter was second to Miss Leslie in the Carousel and Kiss the Girl in the one-mile Geisha Jan. 29 and owns seven of her eight career wins at Laurel.
Three Diamonds Farm’s Kiss the Girl has been third or better in seven of eight Laurel starts, four of them wins, including the seven-furlong Conniver last May. The 5-year-old Into Mischief mare has also been successful on turf, capturing the 1 1/16-mile All Brandy last summer at Pimlico and was third, beaten less than a length, in the Ladies, a half-length behind Miss Leslie.
“She should have won the Ladies at Saratoga. She got stuck inside and got out late. We’re not really afraid of anyone in the race, and she’s doing great,” Three Diamonds’ Kirk Wykoff said. “Obviously, she ran a big race last time at Laurel.
“She absolutely loves Laurel. [Trainer] Mike Trombetta calls me every week and says, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to race her all year? She’s getting better,’” he added. “I tell him that right now she’s got a date with Constitution, so we’ll have to evaluate that after this race.”
A $210,000 yearling of 2018, Kiss the Girl began her career with Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and won in debut before finishing second by a neck to Comical in the six-furlong Schuylerville (G3) second time out in 2019.
“She tries hard every time. It finally looks like we figured out what she wants to do. She’s a dirt horse that likes to go long,” Wykoff said. “From being [second] in the Schuylerville with Todd Pletcher you wouldn’t have figured that, but I guess these Into Mischiefs can do just about anything. He throws everything, and she’s almost 17 hands. I’ve found the Into Mischiefs are either small or big, they’re not medium-sized. But, they can all run.”
Victor Carrasco is named aboard Kiss the Girl from Post 2.
Also entered are Smooth With a Kick, eighth in her return from an 11-month layoff for new trainer Brittany Russell in the Carousel; and Scatrattleandroll, sixth in the Thirty Eight Go Go and Carousel in her two most recent starts.
Maryland Jockey Club Press Release
Photo: Miss Leslie (Jerry Dee/Maryland Jockey Club)
