It took some convincing for starters to get Chi Town Lady into the gate for the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga on Aug 6; a few strides out, she still didn't seem that interested in the task at hand, trailing the field and hugging the rail under Joel Rosario. Then, at the top of the stretch, she sprung into action, swinging seven wide out of the turn and taking aim at pacesetter Hot Peppers. Chi Town Lady took down that rival and Matareya expertly with an impressive turn of foot, leaving them 1 1/2 lengths behind at the wire.
The Wesley Ward 3-year-old also survived a stewards' inquiry, as they examined light contact between Chi Town Lady and her two rivals as she passed to their outside.
The win is the first graded stakes victory for the Castleton Lyons homebred, who is a daughter of Verrazano and Harlan's Holiday mare Toni's Holiday. She came to this race off a second in an allowance optional claimer at Churchill in May. She won the listed Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga last season.
Chi Town Lady went off at 17-1, paying $36.00, $11.80, and $3.70.
The race took place on a sealed dirt track rated as good after a rain shower prior to the eighth race. The final time for the seven and a half furlongs was recorded as 1:23.87.
Find the full chart here.
G1 Longines Test Quotes, courtesy of the NYRA media office
Wesley Ward, winning trainer of Chi Town Lady (No. 7, $36): “We got lucky. She had been training great and I was looking at this race after her last race in my mind and gave her a little time because she started coming from behind. I had Joel [Rosario] work her here a couple of times and she was just working phenomenal. I told the owners we were probably going to be running a 30-1 shot, but I wanted to take one shot from way back and do what she's been asking me to do, which is make a big charge and a big grind. We were hoping for a second or third – a graded placing – to see if the race fell apart, and here we are in the winner's circle.
“She's come a long ways. I just think that I had to kind of learn to listen to her to where she wanted to go easy the first part and come on late. This will be her running style from now on.”
On a potential next start: “We haven't thought that far. We just are going to sit down in a couple weeks and figure out which direction we're going to go, but certainly the Breeders' Cup is going to come into play, especially this year being at our home track [Keeneland]. With her style, she'll sit way back and make one big run, so we'll see what happens.”
On if there was concern when the inquiry was posted: “There was for me because I saw it happen and I thought I was coming down. They didn't throw the inquiry sign up at first, so I thought maybe we would skate through it, and sure enough it came up. I was a little worried until I actually saw the replay. I knew the stewards were going to rule in our favor, and they did.”
Joel Rosario, winning jockey aboard Chi Town Lady (No. 7): “They went fast in front and she came with a run. That was an amazing race.
“It looked like they came out a little bit and I ran into them a little bit, but it looked like they were coming more from the inside. My horse was kind of on the wrong lead at that point and I was correcting her trying to keep her straight. She did great.”
Rudy Rodriguez, trainer of runner-up Hot Peppers (No. 6): “She ran her race, tried hard and did what she could. Right now, we'll see how she comes out of the race and take it day by day. I'll talk to Mr. Dubb and we'll see where we are.”
Luis Saez, jockey aboard runner-up Hot Peppers (No. 6): “I was riding my filly. I felt a little bump, not much, and I just tried to get in my lane. She broke full of run and that's how she is. I didn't want to take much from her and she ran pretty big. It was a big race.”
Brad Cox, trainer of third-place finisher Matareya (No. 1): “My first thought was I didn't think she was traveling that well down the backstretch. Flavien [Prat] thought the same, she wasn't really taking them up there. I thought he did a good thing at the three-eighths pole by dropping her down to the inside. It's probably a sign of her just not getting a hold of the track. No excuse really. I think she's a very good filly. Obviously she showed up and maybe not a favorable surface for her, and she still ran a good race.
Flavien Prat, jockey aboard third-place finisher Matareya (No. 1): “To me, there was nothing [regarding the inquiry]. I got bumped a bit. [The rain] changed the track and she never felt comfortable or happy on it. She broke well and after that she spit the bit right away and I never got myself into a nice rhythm and she was just struggling.”
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