Gran Mirella Delivers, Earns First U.S. Victory

After a promising debut, the Dabster filly quickly made amends, going wire to wire in an allowance optional claiming at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Gran Mirella finished strongly / HORSESHOE INDIANAPOLIS

SHELBYVILLE, Indiana (Special for Turf Diario).- After a promising debut, Gran Mirella, a daughter of Dabster, quickly made amends Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis, securing her first career win in the United States. The towering filly, trained by Riley Mott (son of the legendary Bill Mott) and ridden by Jaime Torres, took command early in the $50,000 allowance optional claiming event contested over 8½ furlongs on a fast dirt track.

Following a lengthy layoff, a debut on a wet track, and a visibly need for race conditioning when she finished fifth on July 15, Gran Mirella demonstrated marked improvement. She took the lead right out of the gate and never looked back, repelling persistent challenges from Normandy Queen (Omaha Beach) before powering away in the stretch.

In the final furlong, Gran Mirella showed her class, pulling clear to defeat heavy favorite Night Kiss (Midnight Lute)—who had bested her in their prior meeting—by 3½ lengths in a final time of 1:42.16. Fractional times were 24.74, 48.98, 1:13.47, and 1:38.08. Finishing a half-length back in third was Itzforever (Forever D’Oro).

Bred by Al Adiyaat Argentina SA and owned by Japanese interests under Koji Maeda, the bay returned $15.80 on a $2 wager and was the third betting choice in a field of six.

Before shipping to the U.S., Gran Mirella was one of Argentina’s top 3-year-old fillies of 2024, concluding her juvenile campaign with a victory in the G1 Gran Premio Selección at La Plata, representing the colors of Stud Tinta Roja.

Looking ahead, connections will likely aim for stakes opportunities as she outgrows allowance company. Distances of 9 furlongs and up appear best suited to her running style, where she is expected to continue delivering competitive efforts.

Dulce Despertar Scratched

On the same day at Horseshoe Indianapolis, fellow Argentine runner Dulce Despertar (Fortify) was slated to run on the turf but was scratched after showing elevated temperatures during the morning inspection.