Ce Ce Likely Favorite for Saturday’s 350k G2 Princess Rooney
At 0h03, on June 29, 2021 • By GULFSTREAM PARK
Bo Hirsch LLC’s Ce Ce, a multiple Grade 1 stakes winner trained by Michael McCarthy, is expected to be a solid favorite in Saturday’s $350,000 Princess Rooney Invitational (G2) at Gulfstream Park.
The 5-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality is scheduled to ship from Southern California to South Florida on Tuesday.
Ce Ce is the most accomplished of 11 fillies and mares on the final invitation list to run in the seven-furlong Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and In’ race that will headline the annual Summit of Speed program that will also feature the $200,000 Smile Sprint Invitational (G3), a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up.
Ce Ce captured the Beholder Mile (G1) at Santa Anita and the Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn last year, and she has raced twice this year, debuting with a 3 ¼-length victory in a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance April 17 before coming up short in a fourth-place finish in the two-turn Santa Maria (G2) a month later.
Gary Barber’s Laura’s Light, a Grade 2 stakes winner on turf, also represents Southern California on the final invitational list for the Princess Rooney. The 4-year-old daughter of Constitution, who is trained by Peter Miller, is coming off a victory in the off-the-turf Ouija Board Stakes at Lone Star Park.
Holly Hill Stables LLC’s Pacific Gale, who captured the Inside Information (G2) and Hurricane Bertie (G3) during Championship Meet, has an invitation to return to Gulfstream to try to pick up where she left off. The 6-year-old daughter of Flat Out has finished third in the Vagrancy (G3) and fourth in the Bed o’ Roses (G3) at Belmont since leaving South Florida.