News & Barn notes

PRICEDTOPERFECTION MAKES MONMOUTH DEBUT IN VIOLET

August 17, 2017

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PricedtoPerfection will make her first run over the Monmouth Park turf as she looks to add another graded stakes victory to her resume when she faces a field of nine fillies and mares in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Violet Stakes, going a mile and an eighth.

            The 4-year-old daughter of Temple City out of the Artax mare Glittering Tax exits her first start in 2017 where she finished with intent after stumbling at the break to finish fourth in an allowance optional claiming event at Saratoga on July 22.

“I felt she needed the race under her and should benefit from it,” said trainer H. Graham Motion. “She got shuffled back a little farther than we expected her to, but she finished well and galloped out nicely. I would have liked to have won the race, but I’m very happy with her performance.”

            The $230,000 OBS April 2015 purchase broke her maiden in her second start before returning two weeks later to finish ninth in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland behind Eclipse Award finalist and multiple Grade 1 winner Catch A Glimpse.

            PricedtoPerfection’s only other win came in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream Park last year where she sat comfortably mid-pack along the backstretch and stormed home late to grab the half-length victory.

               Owned by Madaket Stables and Head of Plains Partners, Pricedtoperfection has worked once leading up to her first stakes start of 2017. That work came on Aug. 11 when she went five furlongs in 1:02 over the synthetic training track at Fair Hill.

            Pricedtoperfection will have to beat two other stakes victors in the field in search of her second graded stakes win. Brendan Walsh will send out Beauly, who won the Indiana General Assembly Distaff at Indiana Grand last time out, and Michael Maker trainee Gianna’s Dream, who took home last year’s Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf at Remington Park.

            The Violet will run as race 11 on Saturday’s 12-race card. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. with first post scheduled for 12:50 p.m.