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D’Amato, Fresu Make It A Stakes Double With Laulne In $100,000 Angels Flight
4/7/2024
D’AMATO, FRESU MAKE IT A STAKES DOUBLE WITH LAULNE IN $100,000 ANGELS FLIGHT FOR 3-YEAR-OLD FILLIES ON THE HILLSIDE TURF COURSE
ARCADIA, CA (April 7, 2024)—The big weekend for trainer Phil D’Amato and jockey Antonio Fresu continued when Laulne got up to win by a nose in Sunday’s $125,000 Angels Flight Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the hillside turf course.
The victory for D’Amato and Fresu came four races after teaming to win the John Shear Stakes with King of Gosford and one day after scoring with Stronghold in the GI Santa Anita Derby. For D’Amato, he finished the Classic Meet with 11 stakes wins to lead all trainers. Fresu finishes the Classic Meet with 11 stakes wins, which ties with Prat for the most by a jockey at the Classic Meet.
Sent off the 5-2 second choice in a nine-horse field, Laulne settled in mid-pack then unleashed a powerful stretch kick to run down Alluring (4-1) with Umberto Rispoli up. The winning time for about 6 ½ furlongs on firm turf was 1:12.37.
Finishing a length back of Alluring in third was Girl of My Dreams with another three-quarters of a length back to pacesetter Girl of My Dreams (16-1) in fourth. Zona Verde, the 5-2 favorite also trained by D’Amato, was never a factor and finished sixth.
Laulne was making her first start since an off-the-board finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 3, which was the U.S. debut for the Irish-bred daughter of Starspangled. Last year in France, she won a Group 3 sprinting at Deauville and placed in two other group stakes.
Laulne is campaigned domestically by Madaket Stables, Panic Stable, Gerard Norman-Augustin, Robert V. LaPenta and William Strauss. She improved to 4-1-2 in eight starts with $180,762 in earnings.
Laulne paid $7.40, $4.20 and $3.60. Alluring, trained by Richard Mandella, returned $5.00 and $4.20. Girl of My Dreams, trained by Doug O’Neill, paid $7.80 to show.
Fractions for the race were 21.99, 43.85 and 1:06.38.
After a one-week break, live racing will resume for a 29-day run on April 19 the start of the Hollywood Meet.