Brilliant 'TDN Rising Star' Unique Bella (Tapit) might be the undisputed leader of the pack among sophomore fillies, but the number two slot appears very much up for grabs at this point, and several of the runners entered in Saturday's GII Rachel Alexandra S. at Fair Grounds have a claim on that spot.
Fellow 'Rising Star' Valadorna (Curlin) romped at Keeneland second out in October, but came up just short of eventual champion Champagne Room (Broken Vow) when patiently ridden in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies the following month. The bay got up late in a local allowance at 10 cents on the dollar Jan. 27, and carries the same Stonestreet silks as this race's namesake did for much of her Hall of Fame career.
Well-bred Farrell (Malibu Moon) turned in a breakout six-length tour de force at 10-1 odds in November's GII Golden Rod S. Nov. 26, and the half-sister to Grade I winners J. B.'s Thunder (Thunder Gulch) and Carpe Diem (Giant's Causeway) picked up right where she left off last time with a convincing success over three returning rivals–Wicked Lick (Maclean's Music), Gris Gris (Spring At Last) and Untapped (Tapit)–in the Jan. 21 Silverbulletday S.
Shane's Girlfriend (Adios Charlie) ships in from California and away from Unique Bella. A clear-cut debut graduate sprinting at Santa Anita in October, the Doug O'Neill trainee saw out a tight two turns when thrashing foes by 13 1/4 lengths in the Nov. 19 GIII Delta Downs Princess S. The bay was no match for Unique Bella at 4-5, however, when third in the Jan. 8 seven-furlong GII Santa Ynez S. O'Neill shipped in to take the GII Fair Grounds Oaks here last March with Land Over Sea (Bellamy Road), avoiding another Jerry Hollendorfer-trained monster in Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro)
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