Unbeaten Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. I) Lady Eli will make her second start of the year on Sunday when she runs in the $200,000 Wonder Again Stakes at Belmont Park.
The nine-furlong turf race has drawn a surprisingly large field of nine three-year-old fillies, although one of the entries–Doinwhatshelikes–will only start in the event that rain forces the race to be run on the dirt track instead of the turf course.
Trained by Chad Brown, Lady Eli went unbeaten in three starts as a two-year-old, culminating with a decisive 2 3/4-length triumph in the Breeders’ Cup. Following a winter break, Lady Eli returned in good form to win the one-mile Appalachian Stakes (gr. III) at Keeneland on April 12th by 2 1/2 lengths. The Wonder Again Stakes will mark Lady Eli’s first start beyond a mile, and is being used as a prep for the ten-furlong, $1 million Belmont Oaks (gr. I) on July 4th.
The complete entries for the Wonder Again are as follows:
PP/Horse/Jockey/Trainer
1 Pangburn, Jose Ortiz, Kenny McPeek
2 Puca, Junior Alvarado, Bill Mott
3 Itsonlyactingdad, John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher
4 Miss Chatelaine, Joel Rosario, Christophe Clement
5 Doinwhatshelikes, Angel Cruz, Carlos Martin
6 Pine Needles, Luis Saez, Christophe Clement
7 Lady Eli, Irad Ortiz Jr., Chad Brown
8 Heath, Jose Lezcano, Bill Mott
9 My Sweet Girl, Rajiv Maragh, Barclay Tagg
