ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Ray Handal is contemplating giving New York-bred juvenile filly Rossa Veloce her turf debut next out but he said he wants to see a little more out of the daughter of Girolamo when training over grass.
Owned by Handal in partnership with Blue Streak Racing, Rossa Veloce was victorious on debut on August 5 at Saratoga, where she defeated next out winner No Mo’ Spending and followed with a fourth-place finish in the Seeking the Ante on September 4 at the Spa.
Rossa Veloce worked over the inner turf on Sunday morning in her first breeze since the Seeking the Ante and went three furlongs in 38.85 seconds with an eye towards the Grade 3, $100,000 Matron, a six-furlong turf sprint slated for October 11 at Belmont.
“I was just seeing if she liked it. I was going to potentially run her in the Matron,” Handal said. “If there’s a time to take a shot on the grass, now would be the time. I don’t want to go far with her. She went a little slow early. I’m going to try it again next week. The race is at the end of this book, so I still have some time with her. I’ll make sure she finishes a little bit down the lane.”
Handal will saddle Perrine Time Thoroughbreds and West Pace Racing’s Irish Constitution in Thursday’s $100,000 Joseph A. Gimma for New York-bred 2-year-old fillies but said he may cross-enter in the $70,000 Lady Finger on October 5 at Finger Lakes. The daughter of second-crop sire Constitution was fourth in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga last out following a maiden victory over next-out winners Party At Page’s and Samborella.
“She tried really hard in that race but got a little outclassed,” Handal said. “I’ll enter her at Finger Lakes next weekend in the Lady Finger and see how that race comes up and then make a decision. The way this race comes up, it looks like she’ll either be favorite or second choice.”
I’llhandalthecash, winner of the July 3 License Fee over the Belmont inner turf, will point to the $80,000 Floral Park on October 17. The daughter of Point of Entry was recently a distant 12th under Jose Ortiz in the Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint on September 12.
“I gave her a week off after that race at Kentucky Downs over a boggy track,” Handal said. “Jose said she just hated it. She got the worst part of the track and was just slipping and sliding all over the place. We’ll bring her back here in the Floral Park in a couple of weeks.”
I’llhandalthecash is owned by VinLaur Racing, Dark Horse Racing and Taste of Victory Stable.
Easy Goer winner Celtic Striker is scheduled to face allowance company at Keeneland next out. The Imperial Racing-owned son of Congrats has not raced since finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga, which was his seventh start this season.
“I’ll give him 60 days off after that. He’s had a long year and a long campaign,” Handal said.
Perrine Time Thoroughbreds’ Kansas Kis, second in the Busher Invitational on March 7 at Aqueduct, is nearing her return to action after having not raced since finishing fourth in a June 11 allowance race at Belmont Park.
“She just had her first work back. She’ll have another work on Monday, another three-eighths,” Handal said. “We’ll probably look for an allowance race and then a nice winter stakes campaign here with older fillies.”
Press Release
Photo: Rossa Veloce. Credit: NYRA/Coglianese Photos
