Eclipse's Aron Wellman said that the 4-year-old filly was at WinStar preparing for a return to racing and to her trainer Todd Pletcher.

“We're devastated to report Con Lima suffered a catastrophic injury in her stall last night and had to be euthanized,” the Tweet read. “Con Lima epitomized all that was good about thoroughbred racehorses and our heart goes out to her, our partners, her breeders and all who cared for this grand gal.”

Wellman called her “one of a kind.”

In an impressive run in 2021, Con Lima reeled off wins in the Honey Ryder S., Ginger Brew S., GIII Herecomesthebride S., GIII Wonder Again S., and the GIII Saratoga Oaks Invitational S., her last start. All of her black-type wins were on the turf. She was second in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational.

Con Lima was a $15,000 Keeneland November weanling who failed to meet her reserve at the 2019 September sale and again at 2020 OBS March.

But she showed she was special right from the start, winning by over five lengths in her second start on the dirt at Gulfstream at two. Switched to the turf after her fourth start, she went on to make eight starts on the grass, winning six of them, five of them in black-type events.

“She really captured people's hearts because of where she came from and what she was able to accomplish,” said Wellman. “I'm not sure we've seen many who were able to produce a campaign like she did from age 2 to 3. She was a real throwback, an iron filly who did it at the highest level in the real world.”

We're devastated to report Con Lima suffered a catastrophic injury in her stall last night and had to be euthanized. Con Lima epitomized all that was good about thoroughbred racehorses and our heart goes out to her, our partners, her breeders and all who cared for this grand gal. pic.twitter.com/GUPeAv64jh

— Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners (@EclipseTBP) March 10, 2022

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For a complete list of 2021 honorees, visit the TTA's website here.

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Con Lima, a now 4-year-old filly by Commissioner out of the Consolidator mare Second Street City, bred in Texas by Lisa Kuhlmann, was a tour de force in 2021. She capped her impressive 3-year-old campaign with a front-running score in the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes on the turf at Saratoga in August, defeating a field of international sophomore fillies.

Her 3-year-old season began in early January with a wire-to-wire victory in the listed Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream Park; that was just the beginning of an impressive season for the Texas-bred filly. She followed that with four victories in graded stakes races, including the G3 Herecomesthebride Stakes, the G3 Wonder Again Stakes, and the aforementioned Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes. Con Lima was also second in the G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes and the G3 Sweetest Chant Stakes. She was off the board just once in eight starts in 2021, amassing a record of 8-5-2-0 with $795,015 in earnings.

Con Lima's dam, Second Street City, has been named the 2021 Texas Broodmare of the Year. And her breeder, Lisa Kuhlmann, is the Texas Thoroughbred Association's 2021 Breeder of the Year.

The leading Accredited Texas-Bred money earner for 2021 was Douglas Scharbauer

The human awards—the T.I. “Pops” Harkins Award for lifetime achievement and Allen Bogan Memorial Award for TTA member of the year—will be announced at a later date.

Following is the complete list of the 2021 champion horses:

2-Year-Old Filly: Eagle Express (by Eagle) • Owner: W.S. Farish • Breeder: W.S. Farish

2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Tengo Mis Papeles (by My Golden Song) • Owners: Wayne Sanders & Larry Hirsch • Breeder: Mascassar Corporation

3-Year-Old Filly: Con Lima (by Commissioner) • Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph Graffeo, Erik Nikolaus Del Toro, and Troy Johnson • Breeder: Lisa Kuhlmann

3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Stone Cafe (by Stonesider) • Owner: 1. Douglas Scharbauer; 2. Henry Witt • Breeder: Douglas Scharbauer

Older Filly/Mare: Shes Our Fastest (by Oratory) • Owner: Mark Norman & Norman Stables LLC • Breeder: Eureka Thoroughbred Farm

Champion Older Horse: Sunlit Song (by My Golden Song) • Owners: Carolyn Barnett and Becky Harding • Breeder: Carolyn Barnett

Champion Broodmare: Second Street City (by Consolidator)

Horse of the Year: Con Lima (by Commissioner)

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“Each year, the Florida HBPA recognizes the horses that shine not just during the Championship Meet, but year-round in South Florida,” FHBPA President Stephen Screnci said. “All of our Champions competed at Gulfstream during the Royal Palm and Flamingo Festival meets that run from April through November.

“We also changed it up a little this year to honor one of our owners or trainers not just for their accomplishments on the racetrack, but also for their contributions to our community,” Screnci added. “Steve Dwoskin is our first FHBPA 'Person of Distinction,' and we couldn't have found a worthier candidate for the award.”

An owner and trainer in South Florida since 1969, Dwoskin has long been a partner with Sylvester Comprehensive Care Center, a part of the University of Miami Health System (UHealth). A generous donation to Sylvester helped to fund the Dwoskin Proton Therapy Center, which began treating patients with advanced and precise radiation therapy last September.

He is also the owner/trainer of this year's Champion Older Filly/Mare Choose Joy.

Dwoskin, who lost his father and brother to cancer, was emotional when he said, “I can handle most anything, but I couldn't handle it when my brother and my father got cancer. When I first got involved [with Sylvester], it was strictly for research, trying to find a cure for cancer. But I got pretty strong there, and I started helping people, friends, and family. If anyone from the horse industry ever needs help, I'm here for you. Helping people – that's what makes me feel really good.”

The complete list of the 2021 FHBPA Champions is:

Person of Distinction: Steve Dwoskin

Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Octane (Arindel, Owner; Carlos David, Trainer)

Two-Year-Old Filly: Outfoxed (LNJ Foxwoods, Owner; Bill Mott, Trainer)

Three-Year-Old Colt: Papetu (Magic Stables LLC, Owner; Antonio Sano, Trainer)

Three-Year-Old Filly: Con Lima (Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph F. Graffeo, Eric Nikolaus Del Toro, and Troy Johnson, Owner; Todd Pletcher, Trainer)

Older Horse/Gelding: Miles Ahead (David Melin, Leon Ellman, and Laurie Plesa, Owner; Eddie Plesa, Trainer)

Older Filly/Mare: Choose Joy (Steve Dwoskin, Owner/Trainer)

Turf Horse/Gelding: Warrior's Pride (Just for Fun Stables, Owner; Antonio Cioffi, Trainer)

Turf Filly/Mare: Shifty She (Chris Pallas and Harvey Rothenberg, Owner; Saffie Joseph Jr., Trainer)

The Dinner also featured the nominations for the 2022 FHPBA Election, which will be announced next week.

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“Each year, the Florida HBPA recognizes the horses that shine not just during the Championship Meet, but year-round in South Florida,” FHBPA President Stephen Screnci said. “All of our Champions competed at Gulfstream during the Royal Palm and Flamingo Festival meets that run from April through November. We also changed it up a little this year to honor one of our owners or trainers not just for their accomplishments on the racetrack, but also for their contributions to our community. Steve Dwoskin is our first FHBPA 'Person of Distinction,' and we couldn't have found a worthier candidate for the award.”

An owner and trainer in South Florida since 1969, Dwoskin has long been a partner with Sylvester Comprehensive Care Center, a part of the University of Miami Health System (UHealth). A generous donation to Sylvester helped to fund the Dwoskin Proton Therapy Center, which began treating patients with advanced and precise radiation therapy last September. Dwoskin is also the owner/trainer of this year's Florida Champion Older Filly/Mare Choose Joy (Munnings).

Dwoskin, who lost his father and brother to cancer, was emotional when he said, “I can handle most anything, but I couldn't handle it when my brother and my father got cancer. When I first got involved [with Sylvester], it was strictly for research, trying to find a cure for cancer. But I got pretty strong there, and I started helping people, friends and family. If anyone from the horse industry ever needs help, I'm here for you. Helping people–that's what makes me feel really good.”

The night's other winners were:

• Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Octane (Brethen) Arindel, Owner; Carlos David, Trainer
• Two-Year-Old Filly: Outfoxed (Valiant Minister) LNJ Foxwoods, Owner; Bill Mott, Trainer
• Three-Year-Old Colt: Papetu (Dialed In) Magic Stables LLC, Owner; Antonio Sano, Trainer
• Three-Year-Old Filly: Con Lima (Commissioner) Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph F. Graffeo, Eric Nikolaus Del Toro & Troy Johnson, Owner; Todd Pletcher, Trainer
• Older Horse/Gelding: Miles Ahead (Competitive Edge) David Melin, Leon Ellman and Laurie Plesa, Owner; Eddie Plesa, Trainer
• Older Filly/Mare: Choose Joy (Munnings) Steve Dwoskin, Owner/Trainer
• Turf Horse/Gelding: Warrior's Pride (Poseidon's Warrior) Just for Fun Stables, Owner; Antonio Cioffi, Trainer
• Turf Filly/Mare: Shifty She (Gone Astray) Chris Pallas and Harvey Rothenberg, Owner; Saffie Joseph, Jr., Trainer

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But nobody needs to tell Joseph F. Graffeo, himself the son of a bartender, the kind of odds being confounded by Con Lima, who has been beaten by a single American rival in eight starts on the turf and took her earnings to $884,865 when making all in the GIII Saratoga Oaks Invitational earlier this month. Graffeo has been in and around the game for four decades, hardened by all the usual ups and downs, and this filly's rags-to-riches rise–with a lucrative expansion in her ownership group–has melted his sentimental armor.

“I used to be a pretty tough guy but now I'm just a mush,” Graffeo says with a chuckle. “I cried about ten times [at Saratoga]. I was like, 'What the hell, Italian guys from New York are not supposed to do this.' But we've been up and down in life, and as I get a little bit older–more than a little–you really appreciate a gift like this. I don't mind telling you, having gone 20 years without something like this, it's emotional.”

That previous glimpse of the summit, halfway through his Turf career, came with millionaire Two Item Limit (Twining), picked out for $50,000 at OBS March and sold for $525,000 after a career that encompassed success in the GII Black-Eyed Susan S. and a longshot podium behind Unbridled Elaine (Unbridled's Song) and Spain (Thunder Gulch) in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff of 2001. That was particularly special, as the meeting was staged that year at Belmont Park: forever Graffeo's “home” track, even though he has been resident in Florida since 1987.

“If I wanted to see Dad on his off days, every day he'd go to the track,” he explains. “If I wanted to spend time with him and my uncles, they liked to gamble, we'd go to Belmont, go to Aqueduct. I think I was five when he first took me to the racetrack, we lived four miles away from Belmont, and it was love at first sight: oh my God, seeing these majestic animals! And it was our mutual interest that kept me close to my father.”

At the level of the market where Graffeo and his partners tend to operate–typically in the range of $20,000 to $50,000–you obviously have to compromise on something. Two Item Limit, for instance, had major defects of conformation.

“She was crooked,” Graffeo says frankly. “But she floated over the ground. She winged out like crazy, but she was so athletic that when she hit the ground it was like she wasn't even touching it. She was our best horse, up until now, but nothing compared to this filly. This filly is really special.”

Ear pricked at the finish, Con Lima takes the Saratoga Oaks | Sarah Andrew

She was drawn to his attention after falling through the cracks at the 2020 edition of the same sale that had once produced Two Item Limit. Bred by Lisa Kuhlmann, the second-crop daughter of Commissioner (who would be exported to Saudi Arabia soon afterward) had been sold to V.C. Corp as a $15,000 Keeneland November weanling before failing to meet her reserve at $19,000 back in the same ring the following September. With the market meanwhile petrified by a global pandemic, even the privilege of a Niall Brennan education could not prevent her again being led out unsold at OBS, at $22,000.

Graffeo checked out the video. “And I kind of liked her,” he recalls. “She looked very athletic, looked like she could fit the bill for us. When you buy at the price we do, and are as selective as we are, then you're going to have to give something away. Probably they saw Texas-bred, they saw Commissioner, and that's why they didn't buy her. But I just watched her breeze, and she worked good.”

So he called his partner Charles Weston. “Do me a favor, check this baby out.”

He knew that Weston was by no means certain to give the green light. Graffeo has the miles on the clock for his judgement to be worth heeding–for many years he scouted talent for bloodstock agent Nick Sallusto–but ultimately when he sends Weston a video they both need to agree.

This time, Weston came back and said in his Texas drawl: “Pull the trigger, buddy, pull the trigger.”

Eight starts ago, Con Lima began 2021 with a first stakes win in the Jan. 2 Ginger Brew | Ryan Thompson

So some of Graffeo's regular partners were brought in, and the filly was sent down to Carlos David at Palm Meadows. Two things quickly became clear. One was that Con Lima was decidedly quirky. You couldn't train her to run with other horses. She viewed them all as competition, and wouldn't be restrained. But the other trait was more auspicious: not only did she want to outrun them all; she could.

“It was tough to get her to pay attention and listen,” Graffeo recalls. “She was an absolute handful, but I think that competitive nature is what makes her what she is. And when I watched her with nice horses Carlos had in his barn and, well, I don't want to use the word 'demoralise', but she'd just bury them.

“In her first race, at Gulfstream, the track couldn't have been any sloppier and she was so green, she was all over the place. But she closed unbelievable, almost won the race, and then won easy next time out. That's when I said to the partners that for what they invested, this was the time to take the money off the table.”

The most compelling approach to Graffeo and his team–also comprising Troy Johnson, Del Toro and Eric Nikolaus–was made by Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbreds.

“They had great credibility, and there was no argument,” Graffeo recalls. “I gave our valuation and said we'd like to stay in for 25%. And the deal was done in a day.”

There was, however, one stipulation from Eclipse: the filly would be moved to Todd Pletcher. Hard to argue with that: come Saratoga Oaks day, after all, her trainer had been admitted to the Hall of Fame 48 hours earlier. Admittedly even Pletcher needed a little time to figure out Con Lima's quirks, but soon his team were directing her energies the right way. After a couple of stakes placings, they thought to try her on turf and, bar one last experiment on the main track in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, she hasn't looked back since. Only Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) could pass her in the GI Belmont Oaks, which looks some distinction after the Irish gem followed up at Arlington last weekend; and Con Lima's subsequent success at Saratoga suggests her to be thriving on eight starts already this year.

Con Lima, rail, just a half-length shy of Santa Barbara in the Belmont Oaks | Coglianese

“She runs every month,” marvels Graffeo. “You say to yourself, 'Okay, I guess we're going to give her a couple of weeks now.' But there's no questioning a Hall of Fame trainer and I think Todd really felt she was thriving at Saratoga. I went to see her 5:30 the Monday morning after the race, she was eating up and looked like she could go back out that day and run again. This filly is just freaky. I said to the people there, 'My baby's grown up.' Physically she looks just spectacular, she's muscled up, she's filled in the right places. Todd has done sensational, and so have Aron and the Eclipse group, too, they're doing a great job managing her. I'm so pleased I chose them, they're an outstanding group of people involved, we couldn't be happier.”

True, Graffeo can't celebrate like he once did, owing to a medical scare a couple of years ago. But who would need a barman to pour drinks, if you could bottle an atmosphere like Saratoga?

“You know, I don't see the young people as involved in racing as I think they should be,” Graffeo remarks. “But if you did a video of Saratoga that weekend… It was just so vibrant, so exciting, so glamorous, it was how racing was meant to be. Somehow we need to figure out how we get that message out there, and rebuild a strong foundation for the future. They might not do it on a Wednesday afternoon at Parx, but on a weekend at Saratoga or Gulfstream, you can just see the place rocking. I guess after missing last year, people are going out and have a good old time. I've been around a long time, I'm getting older, but even I was caught up in it: it made me feel young.”

And Graffeo senses that Con Lima is herself helping to spread the word. His son's social media has registered a tidal wave of enthusiasm for the underdog with a catchy name. Deep down, perhaps, to Graffeo himself it would have been still more precious had she managed to hold out in the Belmont Oaks–not so much for the Grade I rank as for the setting.

Con Lima heading into the Saratoga winner's circle | Sarah Andrew

“Honestly, for all that unbelievable tradition and glamor at Saratoga, winning at Belmont would have been very special, with my dad's memory,” he admits. “But you know what, we're going to go back 'home' and try again, try to get that last leg [of the NYRA Turf Triple, in the Jockey Club Oaks Sept. 18]. The extra distance won't faze her at all, I think she can run all day. You could see how those ears went back at Saratoga: they just weren't going to catch her, she just dug in. And that's the way she's always been. Santa Barbara is top, top class, but Con Lima is probably the best U.S. turf filly at this point.”

To be fair, it's not as though Graffeo is unfamiliar with this rarefied level. He has been involved in expensive horses with Sallusto, he has traded plenty of stakes winners, and will go prospecting for yearlings at the September Sale with the confidence of one who has made many different angles work over the years. Ultimately, however, Con Lima has vindicated his faith in the value available at a certain level of a certain market. And there's no rule stating that this second elite “item” has to be the limit.

“I just came back from the sale at Saratoga, and the prices were great, there were some really nice horses and I'm sure they were worth it,” he says. “So I'm not saying it's the same for other folks. But for us the risk-reward percentage, our main push, has been with the 2-year-olds. We got a Classic Empire at the April Sale, I just watched him breeze and it was outstanding. And we got more coming. So we're looking forward to some of these babies. People that spend what I do, it feels like it can only be once-in-a-lifetime–but you never know.”

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Prat rode at Del Mar on Thursday then headed to Saratoga to ride over Whitney weekend. On Friday, trainer Chad Brown called on Prat to ride Public Sector (GB) for the third time in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes. Sent to the post as the 4-5 favorite in the field of seven 3-year-olds, Public Sector (GB) raced off the pace while saving ground. When a seam opened up along the rail past the sixteenth pole, Public Sector (GB) powered home to win by a length in 1:35.03 over the one mile distance.

“I thought I was going to be able to go around the leader, but then I saw the leader came out and I dropped in and had room,” said Prat. “We were pretty much making the move together but when I really asked him to make the move, he responded really well.”

On Saturday, it was trainer Chad Brown again to give a leg up to Prat on Flavius in the Fasig-Tipton Lure Stakes at 1-1/16-miles on the Mellon turf course for older horses. Breaking from post position five, Flavius went straight to the lead and continued to find more under Prat's encouragement for a one and one-half length win in 1:41.53.

“I didn't see a lot of speed in the race,” Prat said. “I wanted to be in the race and I found myself on the lead. He was travelling super and he kicked on really well.”

To finish the weekend on Sunday, Prat was the pilot on Con Lima, trained by newly minted Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational. Breaking from post position five, Con Lima went to the front and held off a late challenge from Higher Truth and Jose Ortiz to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:54.42 for the 1-3/16 miles on the turf.

“The speed was pretty much me and the Godolphin filly, and it seems she broke a step slow,” said Prat. I broke better than her and I ended up on the lead. She really kicked on well.”

The win marked the 26th graded stakes event for Prat for 2021. He currently ranks second in that category to Joel Rosario who has 31.

Prat's weekly statistics were 11-4-4-0 for an in-the-money percentage of 72.7% and total purses of $674,080. Prat currently sits atop the standings at Del Mar with 21 wins.

For Jockey of the Week, Prat out-polled Corey Lanerie with three stakes wins, Joel Rosario who won the Grade 1 Whitney, Luis Saez with three stakes wins including the Grade 1 Test, and John Velazquez who won the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational.

The post Three Saratoga Stakes Wins Net Flavien Prat Jockey Of The Week Title appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The $1 Pick 6 returned $1,787 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners correctly. Sunday's sequence commenced when Masked Marauder [No. 10] was victorious in Race 5, taking the 5 1/2-furlong maiden claiming contest for New York-breds 3-years-old and up over the Mellon turf course, returning $12.40 on a $2 win wager. River Card Stable's Masked Marauder was ridden by Eric Cancel for trainer Wayne Potts.

In Race 6, 36-1 longshot Dream Lith [No. 8, $75] won the 6 1/2-furlong maiden sprint. David Cohen guided the Medaglia d'Oro filly – owned by Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith – to victory for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

Peter Brant's Regal Glory [No. 7, $5.20] kicked off the stakes action at the Spa with a win in the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose in Race 7, besting Hendy Woods to win the one-mile inner turf contest for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up who had not won a graded stakes in 2021. Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Regal Glory won for the third time in four starts.

Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred Wicked Halo [No. 7, $11.40] posted a front-running score in the $200,000 Grade 2 Adirondack for juvenile fillies sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs in Race 8. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Wicked Halo outkicked Interstatedaydream as Ortiz won his second consecutive stakes.

In the ninth race, Con Lima [No. 5, $8.10] won the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational to win the second leg of NYRA's Turf Triple series for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph F. Graffeo, Eric Nikolaus Del Toro, and Troy Johnson. Ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Con Lima built on her runner-up effort in the first leg of the Turf Triple series in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational to win going 1 3/16 miles over the Mellon turf course.

Michael Imperio's Danzigwiththestars [No. 2, $23.80] triggered the carryover with his win in the 10th-race finale, winning the one-mile inner turf allowance contest under jockey Luis Saez for trainer Domenick Schettino.

Wednesday's Pick 6 kicks off in Race 5 at 3:21 p.m. Eastern and includes the $120,000 Mahony for 3-year-olds in Race 9. First post on the 10-race card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Gam's Mission broke fastest, but Flavien Prat had Con Lima on the lead with a few strides of the gate, taking over before the first turn of the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Oaks. Running easily on the front, Prat and Con Lima controlled the pace, setting fractions of :23.64 for the first quarter and :50.02 for the first half-mile. Behind her, Gam's Mission and Higher Truth stalked in second and third, poised to challenge Con Lima in the stretch.

Around the final turn, Gam's Mission made her move first but was not able to pass Con Lima, fading in the stretch. Higher Truth pursued the front runner in the last furlong, making up ground to get within a three-quarters of a length of Con Lima at the wire. Creative Flair, who was taken up early and had to go wide to find running room, was able to pass horses in the stretch to grab third. Plum Ali, Gam's Mission, Out of Sorts, Messidor, and Rocky Sky rounded out the field of eight.

The final time for the 1 3/16 miles was 1:54.42. Find this race's chart here.

Con Lima paid $8.10, $5.00, and $3.30. Higher Truth paid $6.80 and $4.00. Creative Flair paid $3.30 to show.

“I was analyzing the race beforehand and we were the only speed but I wasn't 100 percent sure with a couple of the Euros if they would show some initiative. I left it in Flavien's [Prat] hands and Plan A was to break well and see if anybody would try to take the lead away from us and if they didn't, we'd be happy to have it. It worked out really well,” Pletcher said after the Saratoga Oaks.

“The speed was pretty much me and the Godolphin filly [No. 7, Creative Flair] and it seems she broke a step slow. I broke better than her and I ended up on the lead,” jockey Flavien Prat told the NYRA Press Office after the race. “Going to the first turn I felt really comfortable. I was really pleased with the way she was traveling and I felt we were doing some easy fractions. She really kicked on well.”

Bred in Texas by Lisa Kuhlmann, Con Lima is a 3-year-old filly by Commissioner out of Second Street City, by Consolidator. Purchased for $22,000 from Niall Brennan Stables at the March 2020 Ocala Breeders Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale, she is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph Graffeo, Del Toro, Eric Nikolaus, and Troy Johnson. With her win in the G3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational, Con Lima has five wins in eight starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of seven wins and five seconds in 13 starts, with career earnings of $884,865.

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Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Con Lima was afforded an easy lead under Flavien Prat, opened up in the stretch and held sway late to annex the GIII Saratoga Oaks Sunday at the Spa.

Originally just a $15,000 Keeneland November weanling buy, the dark bay was privately purchased out of a sharp main-track graduation for trainer Carlos David last July at Gulfstream and was runner-up in the off-turf P.G. Johnson S. and Our Dear Peg S. Scoring a wire-to-wire 5 1/4-length success in her grass bow Dec. 12 at Gulfstream, she repeated in the Ginger Brew S. and was second in the GIII Sweetest Chant S. before being elevated into a GIII Herecomesthebride S. victory via disqualification. Taking one more crack on dirt in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, she faded to fourth after setting a slow pace, her only finish out of the exacta thus far, but bounced back when returned to the lawn with triumphs in the Honey Ryder S. and GIII Wonder Again S.

Just run down late when second in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. last out, Con Lima was made a narrow favorite over Godolphin invader Creative Flair here and broke a bit outwardly. Easing her way to the front as no one else took the initiative, she clicked off comfortable fractions of :23.64, :50.02 and 1:14.34 with ears pricked. Turning aside a brief bid from Gam's Mission (Noble Mission {GB}) past the three-sixteenths pole, she skipped clear into the final furlong as Higher Truth came off the rail to take her shot. Jumping back to her left lead at the sixteenth marker, it briefly appeared that Con Lima was in danger, but Prat kept her to task to score by a fairly comfortable margin in the end.

“I was analyzing the race beforehand and we were the only speed but I wasn't 100% sure with a couple of the Euros if they would show some initiative,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher, capping off a weekend that started with his Hall of Fame induction. “I left it in Flavien's hands and Plan A was to break well and see if anybody would try to take the lead away from us and if they didn't, we'd be happy to have it. It worked out really well. He just gradually got up there instead of having to hustle her and use her. She relaxed really well. You could see when she turned up the backside and her ears were flicking back and forth that she was in a happy zone.”

“The speed was pretty much me and the Godolphin filly and it seems she broke a step slow,” said Prat. “I broke better than her and I ended up on the lead. Going to the first turn I felt really comfortable. I was really pleased with the way she was traveling and I felt we were doing some easy fractions. She really kicked on well. I got her ready to kick and she really did. When she swapped leads, she responded well from that point.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of nine stakes winners and three graded stakes winners for 2014 GI Belmont S. runner-up Commissioner, Con Lima is the first foal to race out of her stakes-winning dam. She is followed by a yearling Point of Entry colt named Pico de Gallo and a weanling colt by Lord Nelson. Second Street City was bred to Game Winner this spring.

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