Love Reigns Returns in Coronation Cup

Stonestreet Stables’ dual stakes-winner Love Reigns will seek her second stakes score at Saratoga Race Course in the July 14 $150,000 Coronation Cup, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies.

Trained by Wesley Ward, the bay daughter of U S Navy Flag has three wins from five starts, including a 2 1/2-length score here last summer in the 5 1/2-furlong Bolton Landing over eventual graded-stakes winner Danse Macabre .

Love Reigns finished off the board as the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) in November at Keeneland to close out her 2-year-old campaign, but returned victorious with a rallying effort in the 5 1/2-furlong Limestone on April 14 at Keeneland.

The $187,123 Goffs Orby Yearling Sale purchase has breezed back six times, including a bullet five-eighths in 1:00.80 on July 4 over the Keeneland dirt.

“She’s doing great. She’s been here at Keeneland and had several works. I’m excited to get her in,” Ward said.

Love Reigns saved ground from eighth position under returning rider Joel Rosario in the Limestone, but was in need of racing room at the top of the lane. A patient Rosario found a path in midstretch and Love Reigns surged between rivals with a sixteenth to run to nail her stablemate in the final jumps.

“She got bottled up and looked like she had nowhere to go, just checking and checking. All of a sudden, she dove down to the inside and off she went,” Ward said. “She’s had a good freshening, which is something I always like with sprinters. She shipped in well to Saratoga and has been there a couple of days now to train over the track, so all systems go.”

Rosario retains the mount from post 4.

Joel Politi’s Maryland homebred Bosserati (post 8, Tyler Gaffalione) rides a three-race win streak into her Saratoga debut. Trained by Brittany Russell, the Holy Boss dark bay has seen her fortunes improve dramatically after being shifted to the turf at eighth asking following a nearly four-month layoff to capture a $25,000 claimer May 12 at Pimlico Race Course.

Bosserati followed that effort with an open-company allowance win on June 2 at Pimlico over next-out allowance winner Afandi before taking the Stormy Blues in familiar gate-to-wire fashion June 18 going the Coronation Cup distance over firm Laurel Park turf.

Russell credited Politi with the form reversal that has seen Bosserati, out of the Twirling Candy mare Candy Striper , rise through the ranks.

“She’s his homebred and he had the mother and this was always his idea when she lost form last year,” noted Russell. “The mother had that sour-out personality, so he said, ‘Let’s freshen her up and try her on the grass.’ It’s been rewarding for her to be a stakes winner now because of that.”

Russell has also entered L Street Lady , last-out winner of the Jersey Girl on June 11 at Belmont Park, for the main-track only.

R.A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables’ multiple stakes-placed My Sweet Affair (post 1, Irad Ortiz Jr.) will look to turn the tables on Bosserati after a troubled trip last out in the Stormy Blues. Trained by George Weaver, the Twirling Candy bay boasts a record of 4-1-1-1, including a debut maiden win in March sprinting five furlongs over the Gulfstream Park turf and a rallying third in the Limestone.

Rigney Racing’s Anna’s Arabesque (post 3, Florent Geroux) enters from a fourth-out graduation in an off-the-turf sprint on June 29 at Ellis Park for trainer Philip Bauer. The daughter of Munnings made her first three starts on turf, led by a rallying third-place finish in the 5 1/2-furlong Mamzelle in May at Churchill Downs. She followed with a more prominent effort over the same course and distance in June, but came up a neck short when collared by L J’s Emma .

Reagan Jack Racing’s Unified Alliance (post 7, Javier Castellano) will make her turf debut following a runner-up effort in the six-furlong Jersey Girl. The Unified bay, who also debuts for trainer Tom Morley, posted a record of 6-2-2-1 for her former trainer, John Servis. She graduated on debut in December at Parx Racing before her front-running, 10 1/4-length score three starts later sprinting seven furlongs at Parx in April.

Rounding out a talented field are the stakes-placed Wildhawk (post 6, Kendrick Carmouche) for trainer Tom Albertrani; stakes-placed Violet Gibson (post 5, Jose Ortiz) for conditioner Saffie Joseph Jr.; and the Christophe Clement-trained allowance winner Love Appeals (post 2, Manny Franco).