Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson's homebred Eres Tu kept her perfect comeback season intact and became a graded-stakes winner in the process with a popular one-length triumph in Saturday's $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.
The 27th running of the 1 1/8-mile du Pont for fillies and mares 3 and up, traditionally contested over Preakness (G1) weekend, was moved following racing's return from the coronavirus pause to serve as the headliner on a Christmastide Day program that featured eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses.
Named for the avid sportswoman and horsewoman best known as the owner of Hall of Famer Kelso, the unprecedented and unsurpassed winner of five consecutive Horse of the Year championships from 1960-64, the du Pont was the last graded-stakes event of 2020 on the East Coast.
Eres Tu ($3.40), trained by Arnaud Delacour, earned his second straight stakes victory and gave jockey Jevian Toledo his third win of the afternoon and second in a stakes. Toledo also captured the $100,000 Dave's Friend for sprinters 3 and up aboard Whereshetoldmetogo.
The winning time was 1:50.57 over a fast main track. Twixt Stakes winner Wicked Awesome closed to be second, holding off Another Broad, fourth in last year's du Pont, by a head. They were followed by Landing Zone, Needs Supervision, Ice Princess and Alittlelesstalk.
Eres Tu has now won all three of her starts since joining Delacour's string at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., over the summer. She had won one of six starts for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and run third to subsequent Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Serengeti Empress in the Rachel Alexandra (G2), and also finished fourth to eventual Grade 1 winner Street Band in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) last year.
It would be another 19 months before Eres Tu would race again, and winning an open entry-level allowance at Keeneland Oct. 14. Last time out, the 4-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon became a stakes winner in the Thirty Eight Go Go Nov. 28 at Laurel.
Multiple stakes winner Needs Supervision, a winner over Eres Tu in the 2019 Silverbulletday and fitted with blinkers for the first time, got out quickly and took the field of seven through a quarter-mile in 24.61 seconds chased by Landing Zone and Eres Tu, who Toledo kept in the clear three wide.
The three horses rounded the far turn together before Eres Tu began to edge away as her main combatants dropped back. At the same time, Wicked Awesome began to launch a bid on the far outside along with Another Broad to make a late bid, but Eres Tu had plenty left to repel the challengers.
“I know [Needs Supervision] was going to be a little bit fast, so I let my filly get away from there because I want to be in a good position. So, I let [Needs Supervision] go and then I came around and I was in a perfect spot the whole way,” Toledo said.
“Turning for home, she just had her ears up waiting for horses,” he added. “I got a little bit worried because she didn't want to switch leads and I knew they were coming, but she got the job done. She's a nice filly.”
Notes: In addition to Toledo's three wins, trainer Claudio Gonzalez won twice with Miss Leslie ($7) in the $100,000 Anne Arundel County for 2-year-old fillies and Harpers First Ride ($2.40) in the $100,000 Native Dancer for 3-year-olds and up … The 20-Cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9) saw its jackpot carryover swell to $14,260.39 for Sunday's nine-race program. Multiple tickets with all six winners Saturday each returned $30.60. There will also be a carryover of $1,696.86 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for Race 1.
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