Watching Sky Diva starting to roll past the competition as the field of 10 two-year-old fillies straightened for home in the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park, trainer Steve Klesaris went from feeling cautiously optimistic to downright positive in a matter of moments.

And with good reason. Under jockey Ramon Dominguez, the big chestnut filly put on the same kind of dazzling show she had in her debut, pulling clear to the wire for a 3 ¾-length victory over favored Persistently for her second straight win.

“”She just takes off like she’s coming out of a gun,” said Dominguez of the two-year-old daughter of Sky Mesa, who covered the mile in 1:37.40. “She is just an unbelievable filly.”

A 10-length winner from just off the pace in her maiden score at Delaware Park on Sept. 8, Sky Diva broke somewhat slowly in the Frizette, but Dominguez was content to let her settle off the rail behind the fractions of 22.60 and 45.96 set by Gemswick Park. Taken to the outside rounding the turn, Sky Diva responded with a rousing run when asked, opening up through the lane and gliding home with plenty left.

“She is a big, big filly and she puts herself into the race with no effort, for as big as she is,” said Dominguez of Sky Diva, who is owned by Puglisi Racing. “I felt I was on the best horse by far, judging by how well she was moving, and I didn’t really want to go to the inside, so I took my time to get out and it worked well.”

Sent off as the 5-1 third choice by the crowd of 5,635, Ski Diva returned $13.20 for a $2 win bet and earned $240,000.

“We’ve thought very highly of her for a while,” said Klesaris. “Coming around the far turn, we knew the race was ours. Ramon, at that point, was just looking to get around horses while the others were starting to scrub on their horses.”

The Phipps Stable’s Persistently, the even-money favorite, rallied gamely once taken to the outside to gain second, two lengths ahead of the pacesetting Gemswick Park.

“Our plan was to save ground, but she didn’t seem like she was real comfortable on the inside,” said trainer Shug McGaughey, who said the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park on October 24 remained a possibility for Persistently. “Once she got to the outside today, she was fine. But the winner was already too far out in front.”

Trailing Gemswick Park under the wire were War Echo, Coffee in Bed, Heavenly Vision, Winning Brew, Collegiate, Miss Ocean City and Royal Ballade.

The Frizette, part of the “Win and You’re In” challenge, offers Sky Diva a guaranteed berth in the Juvenile Fillies, which Klesaris said was under serious consideration.

“Synthetic surface is something we’re all up against; it’s just a big unknown factor,” he said. “Regardless, the Breeders’ Cup is a strong possibility for us.”