The progressive Lucky Girl (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) looks to make it three on the trot as the likely favorite in a competitive renewal of the GIII Providencia S. at Santa Anita.
Third in a single European appearance at Ireland's Gowran Park for trainer Andrew Slattery, the bay was fractionally disappointing when off the board in each of her first three U.S. appaearances, including a troubled fifth in a one-mile maiden here Dec. 27. Connections nevertheless swung for the fences and gave their filly a try in the Jan. 30 Lady of Shamrock S., in which she duly obliged by a widening margin, and she doubled up with a more narrow success in the China Doll S. Mar. 6, defeating a hard-to-handle Sterling Crest (Ire) (No Nay Never) into third.
'TDN Rising Star' Cairo Memories (Cairo Prince) makes a return to what appears to be her best surface Saturday. Winner of this track's Surfer Girl S. last October, the gray was an 8-1 chance in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and though she was only ninth, closed off nicely to finish less than three lengths behind Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). The runner-up that afternoon, Malavath (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), made a victorious 3-year-old debut in the G3 Prix Imprudence Thursday at Deauville. Beaten a half-length in second by Eda (Munnings) in the GI Starlet S. in her dirt debut Dec. 4, Cairo Memories exits a seventh in the GIII Santa Ysabel S. Mar. 6.
Sixteen Arches (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) took advantage of the 'lightning lane' in rallying past her favored John Murtagh stablemate Chicago Lightening (GB) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) in a Dundalk maiden Jan. 7 and merits respect out of the Phil D'Amato barn always dangerous with its American debuters.
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