Bayou Brigid will look to extend a two-race winning run on turf when the three-year-old filly takes on seven rivals in Saturday’s $100,000 Miss Gracie at Gulfstream Park, with the one-mile grass stakes also offering trainer and co-owner Heather Smullen an opportunity to secure a first career stakes victory.
Miss Gracie Stakes 2026.
The race, restricted to three-year-old fillies, will headline a 10-race Royal Palm Meet programme scheduled to begin at 12:20 p.m. The field will contest a two-turn mile on the turf, a distance that should suit Bayou Brigid after two encouraging performances over the Gulfstream course.
Bayou Brigid enters the race after a determined neck success over the same course and distance on July 13, where the filly defeated older runners, including Calathea, who subsequently won. That victory followed a 1 Âľ-length success in a state-bred allowance over 1 1/16 miles on turf, again against older opposition.
The recent form has given Smullen a strong reason to step the filly into stakes company.
Bayou Brigid has raced nine times on turf, recording two wins, two seconds and two thirds. The filly also has a win and a third from two starts over Gulfstream’s Tapeta surface, but the grass has clearly produced the strongest performances.
A third-place finish in the June 6 Martha Washington came between the two turf victories. Bayou Brigid was beaten three lengths by Haute Diva in that contest, giving the Smullen-trained runner another useful stakes experience before returning to the grass.
Her record on dirt is less encouraging. Bayou Brigid finished fifth in the My Dear Girl division of the Florida Stallion Stakes Series last November, her only start on the surface.
The one-mile turf trip has already brought Bayou Brigid success, too. The filly finished third in last autumn’s Our Dear Peggy over the same distance, giving Smullen two of her three stakes placings as a trainer. The other came through Wootun, who finished second in the Hutcheson on March 14.
Smullen has enjoyed a productive Royal Palm Meet, with 17 victories and $679,675 in purse earnings placing the stable among the meeting’s leading trainers. Across 476 career starters, the 2024 solo training venture has produced 42 wins and more than $1.9 million in purse earnings.
Bayou Brigid will start from the rail with Leonel Reyes returning to the saddle. The eight runners will carry 120 pounds.
The inside draw will add another element to the assignment, particularly around the first turn of the two-turn mile, but Bayou Brigid’s recent course form gives the filly a solid foundation.
Laigina will break from Post 3 for trainer Patrick Biancone with J.G. Torrealba aboard. The Leinster filly has finished second in two one-mile turf stakes at Gulfstream, the Honey Ryder in May and the Ginger Brew in January, while also finishing third in the Sanibel Island over 7½ furlongs in March.
Laigina most recently finished fifth against older horses in the July 11 Powder Break, which marked her first appearance on Tapeta.
Curly Sue, drawn in Post 7 with Yolber Torres, enters after winning over the Miss Gracie course and distance on July 13. Trainer Jose D’Angelo added the filly to the field following that encouraging return, which came against older opposition.
Curly Sue raced twice at two, both on dirt, finishing second on debut before placing fifth on a sloppy surface in November. The filly subsequently received time away from competition.
Turkish Flame will start from Post 2 with Marcos Meneses, while Call the Bullpen occupies Post 4 with Samy Camacho. Sorokin is drawn in Post 5 for Rasheed Hughes, Del Mar Sunrise starts from Post 6 with Jose Morelos, and Bert’s Knoty Girl completes the field from Post 8 with Pedro Pena.
Bayou Brigid will therefore arrive at Saturday’s feature with momentum, proven form over the Gulfstream turf and another opportunity to measure progress against her own age group. A third consecutive turf victory would also mark an important milestone for Smullen as her young stable continues to establish itself.
The race is scheduled as the feature of Gulfstream Park’s 10-race Saturday programme, with the first race due off at 12:20 p.m.
As this is a preview, there is no finish order yet; the result will be determined when the eight fillies meet on Saturday.
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