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August 4, 2007


IRRIDESCENCE ARRIVES TODAY FROM ENGLAND FOR BEVERLY D. STAKES,
INTERNATIONAL STAR SET FOR NEXT WEEK’S GRADE 1 IN CHICAGO,
DE KOCK AND MARWING WILL BE AT ARLINGTON PARK FOR CONTEST



Irridescence is poised for her American debut.
Irridescence arrived shortly after noon on Friday at the O’Hare International Airport near Arlington Park, where a week from tomorrow she will be on display in the $750,000 Beverly D Stakes.

Trevor Brown of the Mike de Kock stable said "She traveled very well, much better than to Hong Kong last year. She has lost a little weight, but not much at all. I am very pleased with the way she looks."

De Kock is due in to Chicago on Tuesday.

Named after the departed wife of Arlington chairman Richard L. Duchossois, the Beverly D is contested at a mile and three-sixteenths over the infield grass course at the Arlington Heights racetrack.

Considered to be one of the premier races for fillies and mares in the world, the race usually attracts an international cast. This year the cast is comprised of 6 North American runners and just a pair of foreign invaders. However, of the U. S.-based runners, at least half came from overseas.

“This is an exceptionally high-class group of fillies,” said Barry Irwin. “This is a very good renewal.”

Among the top fillies and mares expected to suit up for the race that shares billing with the Arlington Million are the following:
  • Irridescence is the most accomplished international performer in the field, having beaten a top cast of males and females in the $1.8-million Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in Hong Kong last year, when Ouija Board and Bullish Luck finished in her wake. She tuned up beautifully for this affair with a fine second-place finish in a top-class field in England in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes recently at Newmarket on a straightaway. She is a confirmed front runner and likes a galloping track like Arlington Park.
  • Honey Ryder is in the final season of a brilliant career that has seen her hold her own against the best of her own division and males as well. An earner of more than $2.3 million, she counts among her many Graded victories tallies in the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor and Flower Bowl Handicaps. She was recently placed behind English Channel in the Grade 1 International at Monmouth Park.
  • Citronnade has assumed the mantle as the top-rated grass distaffer on the West Coast, where for trainer Bobby Frankel she has developed into a top-flight racing tool. The daughter of Lemon Drop Kid had won 8 of her 11 starts, with a pair of seconds and only one unplaced effort. Most recently, she accounted for the Grade 1 Gamely Handicap at Hollywood Park.
  • Lady of Venice sports credentials very similar to those of Citronnade, having raced 10 times, with 7 wins and 2 seconds. In her most recent outing, she employed a devastating turn of foot to account with ease for the $1-million CashCall Mile at Hollywood Park. She is basically a Miler, even though she has won over 9 furlongs last season at 3 in the Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs. It remains to be seen whether her turn of foot will be as effective over 9 ˝ furlongs as it is over 8.
Additional press: Story from AtThePost.com