Dayatthespa expected to take the Herecomesthebride Stakes against eight other fillies at Gulfstream Park
Jockey Ramon Dominguez was aboard Dayatthespa for her first three starts, and in those three starts, he guided the filly to a maiden special weight win at first asking at about five and a half furlongs at Saratoga on turf, and then finished a strong second
in the Grade 3 Natalma Stakes, stretched out in distance from five and a half furlongs to 1 mile over at Woodbine’s turf course last year.
Dominguez was aboard the 3-year-old filly in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies turf, but the pair couldn’t handle the course as the Chad Brown trained filly finished an unplaced 9th on the day to winner Stephanie’s Kitten over at a mile
last fall at Churchill Downs over its turf course.
She was beaten by five and a half lengths at Churchill Downs. “Ramon (Dominguez) came back and said she just didn’t handle the (Churchill) course, that it was too soft,” said Brown. “We loved her race in the Sweetest Chant and she’s training great. We’ll
just hope for firm ground on Sunday.”
Ramon Dominguez was probably shown the door after the disappointing Breeders’ Cup outing, or he had other commitments elsewhere, but whatever the reason jockey Javier Castellano was chosen to mount the filly in her 2012 seasonal debut in the Sweetest Chant
Stakes over at Gulfstream Park’s turf course at about 1 mile.
On 22 January, 2012, the New York bred daughter of City Zip, out of mare M’Lady Doc by Doc’s Leader, Dayatthespa coupled with new jockey posted a 1 ¾ length victory over Wholelottashakin, who finished second and Frolic’s Revenge in third, while Dayatthespa
covered the mile distance in 1 minute and 34.43 seconds on 22 January.
Now the filly is pointed toward the Grade 3, $150,000 Herecomesthebride Stakes at Gulfstream Park on 11 March, 2012, and the race has drawn a deeper field than Sweetest Chant Stakes. She will have a tough time against the John Oxley’s accomplished pair Northern
Passion and Dixie Strike.
The rest of the field consists of the second and third in the Sweetest Chant, Wholelottashakin and Frolic’s Revenge. Wait Til Dawn, Almusafa, Regalo Mia and Ann of the Dance will complete the lineup in the Herecomesthebride Stakes.
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