Festival of Sun Features Classy Filly


Aclassysassylassy will attempt to become the second filly to sweep the Florida Stallion Stakes for 2-year-olds at Calder Race Course on Oct. 23.

"There hasn't been one, besides Nancy's Glitter, that was good enough," trainer David Vivian said. Nancy's Glitter accomplished the feat in 1997.

"The only reason I got this filly was because she was so small," Vivian said. "She's worked good and she's well bred."

All eyes will be on the daughter of Wild Event when she goes in the Stallion Stakes' third division, the $400,000 My Dear Girl at 1 1/16 miles, one of eight stakes worth $1.5 million on the 13th Festival of the Sun card.

Aclassysassylassy, victorious in three of four outings, captured the six furlong Desert Vixen by 3 ½ lengths and the seven furlong Susan's Girl by 2 ½ lengths.

Vivian purchased the juvenile in April for $32,000. "When I got her here to Calder, she looked like a Shetland pony."

On her first day of training, the trainer said, the groom led Aclassysassylassy from her stall and attempted to give the exercise rider a leg up. But the filly reared up and threw herself over backward in the shedrow. She repeated the bad behavior again, but since has trained well.

On one of her first attempts breaking from the gate, she easily outran a horse believed to have a lot of ability.

"And she looked good doing it, too," Vivian said. "She's got a smooth stride, not a choppy, short stride you would expect from a little horse. She was running away from that other horse."

One of her main challengers will be Yes It's Gold, who finished third in the Desert Vixen and the Susan's Girl.

Another dangerous filly is Dansetta Light, who captured the Lindsay Frolic and Brave Raj stakes in her last two starts, both at one mile.

The lone shipper probably will be Southern Serenity, a daughter of Sweetsouthernsaint who broke her maiden last time out going a mail at Turfway Park.

There won't be a sweep in the Stallion Stakes for colts and geldings, accomplished five times in 22 years: Smile, '84; Naked Greed, '91; Seacliff, '95; Express Tour, '00; and Sir Oscar, '03.

The most accomplished Calder-based 2-year-olds likely to run in the $400,000 In Reality at 1 1/16 miles includes Cin Cin (pronounced Chin Chin), trained by Bill White.

The son of Precocity was an impressive winner of the seven-furlong Affirmed by five lengths in early September and stretched out to a mile to capture Foolish Pleasure Stakes on Oct. 2.
The copyright of the article Festival of Sun Features Classy Filly in Horse Racing is owned by Greg Melikov. Permission to republish Festival of Sun Features Classy Filly in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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