Team Hanley, Jeff Drown and Michael J. Ryan's Higher Truth, trained by Chad Brown and piloted by Manny Franco, made the grade with a gate-to-wire performance in Friday's Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay to kick off stakes action at the Belmont Park spring/summer meet.
The about 11-furlong inner turf test for older fillies and mares featured a pair of horses each for trainers Brown and Christophe Clement with the 5-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Galileo dictating terms. Sent to post as the 6-5 mutuel favorite, Higher Truth stopped the clock in a final time of 2:23.57 over the good going.
The victory marked a record-extending sixth Sheepshead Bay score for Brown, who enjoyed past success with Rosalind [2015], Sea Casili [2016-17], Santa Monica [2019] and last year's winner Virginia Joy, who settled for runner-up honors in her title defense.
Higher Truth, with the rails set at 35 feet, marked off splits of 27.07 seconds, 54.78 and 1:23.50 with Atomic Blonde, Virginia Joy and Amazing Grace following in single file. The Clement-trained Amazing Grace, a Group 2 winner in her native Germany and the 8-5 second choice off an impressive North American debut in the Grade 3 Orchid at Gulfstream Park, advanced with ease up the rail down the backstretch for jockey Kendrick Carmouche.
The field bunched up approaching the turn with the Dylan Davis-piloted Virginia Joy looming large on the outside, but Higher Truth continued to find more and kicked away by four lengths at the stretch call and crossed the wire a 1 3/4-length winner. Virginia Joy completed the exacta by 1 1/2-lengths over Atomic Blonde with Amazing Grace rounding out the order of finish. Mylady was scratched.
“I knew my filly was faster than the other ones and I said, 'I'm going to go easy and hopefully she can go all the way around.' That's what she did,” said Franco, who was the leading rider at this year's winter and spring meets at Aqueduct Racetrack. “I knew I was going to have horse at the end. I was pretty comfortable going to the wire, but at the same time I knew the other one [Virginia Joy] was coming. She just exploded in the stretch and got it done.”
Franco will look to continue his stakes success into Saturday when he pilots the Brad Cox-trained Hit Show, the Grade 3 Withers-winner and Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino runner-up, in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
“I'm excited for the chance. I'm hoping for the best and we'll try to get lucky over there,” Franco said. “He's still learning and he's a horse I think can go the distance. Brad knows what he's doing and I'm just happy and have a lot of faith in the horse.”
Peter Brant's Virginia Joy, winner of the Grade 2 Flower Bowl in September at Saratoga Race Course, entered from a closing fourth in her seasonal debut in The Very One in March at Gulfstream.
“She broke OK and Manny decided to go to the lead ,” said Davis, who was aboard the 6-year-old Soldier Hollow mare for the first time in the afternoon. “I just took my time into the first turn and my filly was very relaxed. I tipped her out at the three-eighths [pole] and she gave me a great run and finish. I thought for a second I was going to get there, but that other horse found some more. There were some really nice mares in here and I did my best.”
Purchased by Mike Ryan out of the Tattersalls October-Book 1 Sale in 2019, Higher Truth graduated at second asking in April 2021 traveling 10 furlongs over the Belmont turf and followed with an allowance score over the same course and distance. She participated in all three legs of the filly division of that year's NYRA Turf Triple, finishing third in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational and second in both the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational and Jockey Club Oaks Invitational at Belmont.
Never off the board in five career graded events, she continued her consistent form with a close third in the Grade 2 Sands Point here to close out her sophomore season. She entered Friday's test from a narrow runner-up effort in the Grade 3 The Very One while competing off an eight-month layoff.
Bred in Ireland by Churchtown House Stud, Higher Truth banked $110,000 in victory, while improving her record to 10-4-3-2. She returned $4.50 for a $2 win bet.
Live racing resumes Saturday at Belmont with an 11-race card highlighted by the Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Marcy in Race 9, the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian in Race 10, and the $150,000 Elusive Quality in Race 8. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern. Gates for the Kentucky Derby Day card will open at 10 a.m.
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