Vino Rosso filly splashes to victory in Princess Rooney S. (G3)

Vino Rosso got his third graded winner of the year Saturday at Gulfstream Park in a heavy rain as Kerry’s Kiss went gate-to-wire to win the $225,000 Princess Rooney S. (G3).

As part of the Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ series, the Princess Rooney guarantees Kerry’s Kiss a berth in the Filly and Mare Sprint (G1).

The 4-year-old filly has now won three straight stakes races since joining the Saffie Joseph, Jr. barn a few months ago. Vino Rosso now has over $7.1 million in progeny earnings thus far in 2026, second only to Omaha Beach on the Fourth-Crop sire list.

As she had done in her three previous starts, all wins, Kerry’s Kiss went right to the lead on Saturday, with Anakarina pressing her for the first three furlongs. After going into the turn, Kerry’s Kiss began to pull away, ultimately opening up an insurmountable lead with a furlong to go. She finished strongly to win by 1 ½-lengths.

“We bought her off a two-turn race and we bought her with one-turn races in mind the whole time,” said partner Mark Cornett. “We couldn’t get the one-turn mile to go, so Saffie and I discussed it and we said, ‘Let’s cut her back to 6 1/2 or seven [furlongs].’ The main thing is one turn, that’s what we wanted. And we were right. She’s a different filly going one turn. She can carry her speed going one turn.”

Kerry’s Kiss has a very solid record of 6-6-1 in 18 starts, with earnings of $437,550 for partners Epic Horses, LLC, BAG Racing Stables, LLC and The White House Stables, LLC. The bay filly was bred in Kentucky by Virginia Moore & Malia Hopkins.