Flying Connection seeks 1st graded win in Bed o’ Roses

Flying Connection looks to make the grade in her first start for trainer Rob Atras in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Bed o’ Roses, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, at Belmont at the Big A.

The 4-year-old Nyquist bay brings an impressive record of 15: 7-2-2 with $937,300 in earnings assembled under the care of conditioner Todd Fincher, who saddled her to two Grade 1-placings this year when third last out in the seven-furlong Derby City Distaff in May at Churchill Downs and second in the 1 1/16-mile Apple Blossom in April at Oaklawn.

“She is a big filly,” Atras said. “She has a really big, powerful stride. Especially when galloping out in her works. What I’m seeing right now, I’m hoping she can duplicate in the afternoon.”

Flying Connection rallied from off the pace in her recent Grade 1 placings, including last out when coming from fifth of 10 to finish within 2 3/4 lengths of the victorious Vahva and three-quarter lengths back of next-out stakes winner Alva Starr. The two are regarded as two of the top dirt-sprinting females in the nation. The performance earned a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

She has worked three times over the Belmont Park dirt training track, including a half-mile in 50 seconds flat on June 5.

“Todd shipped her in about a week before her race at Churchill, and we got to know her a bit. She ran great that day,” Atras said. “I’m glad we could get her acclimated to New York. She has worked really well, and I’m hoping she can run just as good as when Todd had her.”

Owned by Brad King, Randy Andrews, Chris Coleman, Jim Cone, Suzanne Kirby and Lee Lewis, Flying Connection seeks an elusive graded-stakes score in her sixth attempt including an additional runner-up finish in one-mile Torrey Pines (G3) in September at Del Mar. She also finished off-the-board in the San Clemente (G2) there after a pacesetting sixth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill.

“She is very versatile. I think she can run good around two turns, one mile, or seven-eighths,” Atras said. “I think she is just a really nice filly that shows up every time.”

Last year, Flying Connection captured the listed Zia Park Oaks and listed Sunland Park Oaks, both run at 1 1/16 miles at their namesake courses.

Out of the Grade 1-placed Quiet American mare Free Flying Soul, who was third in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, Flying Connection was a $250,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September yearling sale.

WellSpring Stables’ Grade 1-winner Leave No Trace has returned to form in her last two outings, which coincided with a return to dirt sprinting for trainer Phil Serpe.

She posted her first win since the Spinaway (G1) in September 2022 when taking an optional-claiming sprint in March at Aqueduct before returning to the stakes winner’s circle last out with a gritty score in the Vagrancy (G3) on May 18 at Belmont at the Big A.

Serpe said the return to form kept Leave No Trace from becoming a broodmare.

“Two starts back when she won, it could have been the final race of her career,” Serpe said. “Fortunately, she won, and she ran very well last time out in the Vagrancy. This is the next step in the direction that we’re trying to take.”

The now 4-year-old Outwork dark bay won the Spinaway at Saratoga as a 2-year-old en route to a third-place finish in that year’s one-turn mile Frizette (G1) at Belmont at the Big A and a runner-up effort to Wonder Wheel going two turns in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland.

Leave No Trace failed to hit the board in her next five outings from March 2023 through Jan. 27 while racing over dirt, turf and synthetic, but regained her mojo in the aforementioned neck win of a local optional-claiming dirt sprint in March. Last out, Leave No Trace pressed the pace of returning rival Beguine in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Vagrancy, taking command with a furlong to run and staving off the bid of returning rival Big Pond to score by three-quarter lengths in a final time of 1:15.91.

“When it gets right down to it, the fact of the matter is she’s 4-for-4 sprinting on the dirt,” Serpe said. “Her pedigree really hinted turf to us and her race in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies was an exceptionally good race. So, with the way she’s built and her pedigree, we were thinking to go long with her. For as well as things went when she was two, everything seemed to go backwards as a 3-year-old. We’re past that now, so we’ll hopefully keep moving forward.”

Out of the winning Good Journey mare Tanquerray, Leave No Trace, a $40,000 purchase at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale, is now 11: 4-1-1 with $748,250 in earnings.

Hall of Famer Bill Mott will send out the Grade 1-placed Big Pond for the second time in her eight-race career.

A California homebred for George Krikorian, the 4-year-old Mr. Big bay has hit the board in 6-of-8 lifetime efforts, including a close second last-out when three-quarter-lengths back of Leave No Trace in the Grade 3 Vagrancy. Before that effort, she competed for trainer Tim Yakteen, notably placing second, beaten by a nose by the well-regarded Daddysruby in the La Brea (G1) traveling seven furlongs in December at Santa Anita Park before a score there one month later versus state-breds in the six-furlong Spring Fever.

Mott and Krikorian teamed up with last year’s champion 2-year-old filly Just F Y I in addition to multiple Grade 1-winning multimillionaire War Like Goddess. Both the Hall of Fame conditioner and experienced owner-breeder appeared at the Eclipse Award ceremony last year, with Mott honored for the fourth time as outstanding trainer and Krikorian accepting the award honoring his homebred Just F Y I.