Sunday Girl improves to 2-for-2 with victory in Sunday’s Park Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.
Sunday Girl ran to her odds and added another stakes winner to three-time leading New York sire Central Banker’s resume with a victory in Sunday’s $200,000 Park Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct.
The 3-year-old filly, fresh from an eye-catching debut victory February 10 at Aqueduct, rolled to a 3-length victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Park Avenue under Katie Davis. Owned by Mitre Box Stable, Clear Stars Stable and Eighth Note Stable and trained by David Duggan, Sunday Girl won in 1:16.91 as the 6-5 favorite in the field of eight.
“I gave her [Davis] no instructions,” Duggan said. “I knew she [Sunday Girl] was going to be a little bit sharper again and she had a clear trip on the outside. She had to pass the test today and she did that. The question mark going in was seasoning and she passed that test.”
Longshot Bustin Time took the early initiative in the Park Avenue, setting the pace through the opening quarter-mile in :22.36 with Davis and Sunday Girl content to track from her outside down the backstretch.
“Honestly the first time she ran, she broke great, but she was more, ‘What’s going on?’ kind of thing,” Davis said. “She broke out of the gate and was like ‘what do you want me to do,’ but she was nicely in my hands. Today, the post really helped us nicely and I got to take advantage of the outside post and being where I wanted to be and she was game.
Sunday Girl pulled Davis to the lead around the bend and approaching the half in :45.18. In control coming off the turn, Sunday Girl spurted away in the stretch as My Shea D Lady, Fast and Frisky and Sohana tried to cut into her advantage. Sunday Girl switched leads late and held off her rivals in hand, cruising under the wire as her sire’s 13th blacktype winner.
“I knew warming up,” Davis said about when she knew Sunday Girl was ready. “The pony guy goes, ‘Oh my god’ and I go, ‘Oh, I know, if you want to stop galloping, I’m good, we can keep her calm and relaxed.’ A filly like that the best thing you can do is keep their heart rate down and let them know it’s OK.”
My Shea D Lady, a stakes winner in her final start of 2023, finished second in her 3-year-old debut and led a 2-3-4-5 finish for her sire Solomini with Sohana third, Fast and Frisky fourth and Handle On You fifth.
Sunday Girl collected $110,000 for her connections in the Park Avenue to boost her earnings to $148,500. Duggan said Sunday Girl could show up next in the $125,000 Bouwerie Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies on the Sunday, June 9 card of the Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
“You roll on to the next challenge that they give us which will probably be the Bouwerie at Saratoga,” he said. “If she gets seven-eighths – there will be a different type of horse coming in there, so with a little more time and maturity you’d like to think that you’re going to improve again. I don’t think she needs to improve a whole lot but that was quite a nice performance today.
“The punches are going to get tougher now. I’m very realistic. You’re in a good position going into the next stake. If she holds form or improves a little bit, she’ll be right there.”
Sunday Girl brought the highest price for a New York-bred in the open portion of the 2022 OBS October yearling sale on a bid of $43,000 from Kathryn Martin. Mitre Box Stables purchased her for $100,000 about seven months later at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale, out of the de Meric Sales consignment.
Bred by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds LLC and Spruce Lane Farm and foaled at McMahon of Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, the chestnut filly is out of the winning Harlan’s Holiday mare Lady Daphne.
Sunday Girl is a half-sister to Lady Jasmine, a New York-bred daughter of Cairo Prince also bred by McMahon and Spruce Lane who won her debut in 2022 at Saratoga Race Course. She’s earned $79,068 in 11 starts. Lady Daphe is also the dam of the winning New York-bred Laoban filly Proper Grammar, who pushed her bankroll to $53,134 this month.
Lady Daphne, purchased by McMahon of Saratoga for $17,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, is also the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Solomini and a yearling full brother to the Park Avenue winner.
Central Banker, a three-time defending leading sire in New York, stands for $7,500 at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs. Solomini also stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds.
