4-Year-Old Sassy Image eyes a third graded win in the $350,000 Grade 1 Princess Rooney Handicap
The four year old chestnut filly, Sassy Image will be looking to go for her third graded stake's win in the $350,000 Grade 1 Princess Rooney Handicap, which will draw a rail of 10 fillies and mares to challenge the 6 furlong run at the Calder on 9 July.
The race will be the final event of the “Summit of Speed” held at the horse racing track of Florida.
Trained by Dale Romans for his brother Jerry, Sassy Image has struck good form all of a sudden in the 2011 season.
The season started with a massive loss when the filly succumbed to an unfortunate loss in the Grade 3 Sabin Stakes for fillies and mares at Gulfstream Park on 19 February 2011, where she finished last among 7 fillies and mares.
Sassy Image picked herself up and left Florida to run at Churchill Downs and the change of scene completely turned her season on its head as she nailed a couple of races.
Kentucky seems to be the place for the daughter of Broken Vow.
On 7 May 2011, Sassy Image ran an emphatic race at Churchill Downs and won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff Stakes by 3 lengths, defeating Hilda’s Passion after a hard fought competition.
She ran on well and when she came wide on the final bend, Sassy Image led inside a furlong and from there on didn’t look back as she crossed the wire.
Next on the menu was the Grade 3 Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs on the 30th of May, where she swept the race, barely winning by a nose from Beat the Blues and giving her season some sort of stability.
Dale Romans will be eyeing the 9th July Princess Rooney Handicap and l*****g his lips for all the right reasons because his filly is in awesome form and if she can find her strides at Calder, she will bag three graded stake's races in a row.
It will be quite a comeback after the disastrous start for the season.
Sassy Image will be carrying a top weight of 124 pounds which speaks for itself considering the form she is in.
The four-year-old filly has had 13 career starts and she has went on to win six times with a lone second place finish in her first career start in the Grade 3 Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga back on 19 August, 2009.
Her earnings are just a little shy of $600,000.
This will be the first time Sassy Image will run in the Calder, a demanding track where she is sent off at 4 to 1.
She will have to prove that she is one of the best at the Sunshine State, whether she will be able to handle the heat or she will find it hard to keep pace with the rest, only time will tell.
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