Monday Night Notes - Mar 12

- A 102 Beyer for Circular Quay in the Louisiana Derby. Not so for Cowtown Cat; the Gotham winner got an 88, making it the slowest Gotham since the Beyers became available in 1991.

By way of comparison, last year's winner, Like Now, received a 105, and the par figure for the Gotham's last 16 runnings is better than 101. [Daily Racing Form]

Wanted to mention the three-year old filly Magnificience, making her debut in the first at Santa Anita on Sunday. You know where to watch it. Talk about left at the gate, she fell far behind, and then was running greenly while a good six-seven lengths behind the second to last horse.

But she picked up steam into the turn, circled the field with a 22-second middle quarter on the turn, hit the front into the stretch, when, Solis said, "she switched leads and said, heck with it, I'm out of here." [Daily Racing Form]

She won by six and got a 96 Beyer; I imagine they may be getting a certain phone call in the next couple of days.

Magnificience, trained by Bruce Headley, was the 9-5 second choice off some spectacular workouts, that in this case were a true indication of her ability. She's by Stormy Atlantic, out of Fashion Delight, a stakes winning Fappiano mare, and she's inbred 4x4 to Secretariat. Her second dam is Charleston Rag (General Assembly), who won the Frizette in 1984 for owner William Farish and trainer Del Carroll.