Abel Tasman Looks to Get Back on Track in Ogden Phipps

[Wandering Eyes]

Abel Tasman (Quality Road) will be seeking her fifth Grade I victory when she goes postward in Saturday’s GI Ogden Phipps S. at Belmont Park. Last year’s champion 3-year-old filly returned from six months on the sidelines to finish an even fourth in the May 4 GI La Troienne S. at Churchill Downs, but has been training strongly since that effort.

“I was really disappointed with the way she ran, but she came back well,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “I think she just needed a race in her. She was away for a while, but I think she should get better. I wanted her to run off a bit, and I think [Mike Smith] should have let her go. I think she really needed that race.”

In her lone previous start at Belmont, Abel Tasman won the GI Acorn S. on the Belmont S. undercard a year ago. The GI Kentucky Oaks winner went on to add the GI Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga before concluding her sophomore campaign with runner-up finishes in the GI Cotillion S. and GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Red Oak Stable’s Unbridled Mo (Uncle Mo) upset champion Unique Bella (Tapit) to win the Apr. 13 GI Apple Blossom H. in her most recent start and she’ll look to take down another Eclipse winner in the Ogden Phipps, a ‘Win and You’re In’ event for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

“It was a big win last time,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of the Apple Blossom score. “To Unbridled Mo’s credit she was able to put in a sustained run. She’s one that we’ve always thought a lot of, and it was great to see her get a Grade I win.”

A winner of seven of 10 career starts, Unbridled Mo is a perfect five-for-five at the Ogden Phipps’s 1 1/16-mile distance, but she will be making her first start at Belmont Park where the distance is run at one turn.

“I guess my greatest concern is the one-turn aspect,” Pletcher admitted. “Her big wins have come in two-turn scenarios, but we felt like after a Grade I win, it made sense to stay at the Grade I level, and hopefully the one-turn part will be OK.”

Kaleem Shah’s American Gal (Concord Point) is coming off a two-length win in the May 5 GI Humana Distaff S. The speedy filly won the GIII Victory Ride S. over the Belmont track last July before concluding her abbreviated sophomore campaign with a win in the GI Test S. at Saratoga.

“She’s shown she’s a versatile filly,” trainer Simon Callaghan said. “She ships very well. She has a firm disposition and constitution. She handles everything well, and the fact that she’s won over that surface before is a benefit.”

American Gal will be making her first start at 1 1/16 mile since finishing second behind Abel Tasman in the 2016 GI Starlet S.

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