Lady of City Lives Up to 3-5 Odds in Juvenile Fillies Sprint

Great Venezuela Popular Winner of Groupie Doll Handicap

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Coming off a 38-1 upset victory in her debut, Gelfenstein Farm LLC’s Lady of City lived up to her 3-5 favoritism Saturday in the $75,000 Juvenile Fillies Sprint at Gulfstream Park.

In her five-furlong debut Oct. 3, the diminutive daughter of 2019 Pegasus World Cup Invitational winner City of Light dropped well off the early pace before rallying to a 2 1/4 length victory. Saturday, she closely stalked the early pace before asserting herself in the stretch to win the six-furlong stakes going away by 4 3/4 lengths under Marcos Meneses,

“She’s a small filly with a big heart,” trainer Antonio Sano said.

Purchased for $50,000 at the OBS Open in June, Lady of City sat just off the pace set by Army Salute, pressed by Early Spark, for a quarter of a mile in 22.40 seconds. Early Spark took over the pace on the far turn, as Lady of City quickly pulled alongside. The Sano trainee put her nose in front turning for home after completing the first half-mile in 45.68 and continued on to a dominant score in 1:11:84.

“The filly improved from her last race. We’re very happy with that,” said Meneses, who was also aboard Lady of City’s debut victory. “I think this is a filly that wants to go a bit more long.”

Early Spark held on for second, a half-length ahead of Hot Rod Honey, who rallied from off the pace under Samy Camacho.

Sano was undecided when Lady of City will race next.

Great Venezuela Popular Winner of Groupie Doll Handicap

Orylana Farm’s 5-year-old homebred mare Great Venezuela, back on her preferred surface for the first time since mid-June, took the lead from pacesetter Vindicate Cha Cha at the top of the stretch and powered through the lane to a popular 3 ¼-length victory in the $60,000 Groupie Doll overnight handicap.

Ridden by Diego Herrera for trainer Victor Barboza Jr., Great Venezuela ($3.80) covered 5 ½ furlongs in 1:03.37 to give the chestnut daughter of Neolithic her eighth win in 11 tries over the all-weather Tapeta course and 11th overall in 22 starts, pushing her career bankroll over $500,000.

“I’m very happy for my mare, for my team, for my owner and breeder,” Barboza said. “She’s won 11 times. It’s a very important number and a very difficult number. For one horse to maintain the same condition for two, three years is very difficult. I am very happy for her. She was very impressive today.”

Herrera settled Great Venezuela, favored at 4-5 against five rivals, in second along the rail pressed to her outside by Duboff as Vindicate Cha Cha broke running from furthest outside and led through fractions of 22.26 and 45.28 seconds. Vindicate Cha Cha left an opening on the inside straightening for home that Great Venezuela came through and opened up to win decisively.

Braganza made a late run to edge Vindicate Cha Cha for second, followed by Fantastic Flame, Secret Revenge and Duboff. Tiffany Gold, Great Venezuela’s multiple turf handicap-winning stablemate, was scratched.

Her win was the fourth in a featured event for Great Venezuela, following the Lightning City on turf at Tampa Bay Downs and Portofino Bay and Islamorada overnight handicaps over the Gulfstream Tapeta, all in 2025.

“I had a lot of confidence with the filly today. She was training really good. She had three consecutive workouts which is very important for my filly,” Barboza said. “Before this race she had little problems and never have consecutive breezes. It made a difference today. She is very professional.”

Co-bred by trainer William ‘Buff’ Bradley and his father, the late Kentucky State Senator Fred Bradley, Groupie Doll won 12 of 23 races and nearly $2.7 million in purse earnings from 2011-14, capping her career with a popular and dominant victory in the 2014 Hurricane Bertie (G3) at Gulfstream Park. She earned the Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter of 2012 and 2013 by winning seven graded-stakes during that span, four of them Grade 1, including back-to-back editions of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1). She campaigned the Bradleys for most of her career, she made her last two starts for Whisper Hill Farm after fetching $3.1 million at Keeneland’s November 2013 breeding stock sale. A finalist for induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2025 and 2025, she was pensioned from broodmare duty in May.