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Truth Hurts Has Options For Next Start After Perfect Sting Win

Truth Hurts, trained and co-owned by Chad Summers with J Stables, flourished in the slop, posting a 5 3/4-length score in Saturday's off-the-turf $100,000 Perfect Sting at one-mile for older fillies and mares at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Entered for the main track only, Truth Hurts drew in and tracked the early speed of Piedi Bianchi under a sharp steer by Luis Saez. Truth Hurts was asked for her best into the turn and responded with a smart turn-of-foot to secure the win, garnering a 76 Beyer.

Summers said the addition of blinkers has honed the Ontario-bred daughter of Tonalist's natural pace.

“I think adding blinkers put a little more speed into her. She's been really good in the morning time since we put blinkers on her,” said Summers. “She's been more aggressive than she has been in the past.

“She's happy with herself this morning,” Summers added. “She cooled out really quickly and is real happy this morning, bouncing around the shed row.”

Summers said he will consider many options for Truth Hurts, including the $200,000 Grade 2 Honorable Miss, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on July 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; or possibly the seven-furlong Grade 3 Seaway on the Tapeta at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario on August 21.

“I don't want to go a mile and an eighth with her anymore. I think a mile is as far as she wants to go,” Summers said. “With that in mind, it's just a matter of seeing what's out there. We could look at a race like the Honorable Miss cutting back to three quarters. We'll take a look around and evaluate the filly sprint division and if she comes back and needs more time, we can wait. There's plenty of options out there.”

Summers said he will have 15 stalls at Saratoga for the upcoming 40-day summer meet that kicks off on July 15.

“We have a lot of exciting babies and we want to take our time with them and do right by them and get them in the right spots,” said Summers. “Saratoga has my favorite races over there, the maiden auction races for horses bought for $45,000 or less. So, we'll take a look at the condition book and see what shakes free.”

NYRA Maiden Allowance Auction Series races are restricted to horses that sold or RNA'd for $45,000 or less at their most recent auction.

The Maiden Allowance Auction Series races offer purses of $80,000 and will also include up to $13,920 in New York Breeding Fund open company owners awards for New York-breds finishing first through third.

Summers said he is looking forward to the debut of Cee Are Em, a $25,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The bay daughter of Orb is out of the Known Fact mare Database, who produced the multiple graded stakes winning turfer Data Link.

“She's going to run in the auction race on the grass in book two,” said Summers. “She works well on the dirt, but with her pedigree being a half to Data Link, we'll want to take a shot on the grass first time out.”

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Truth Hurts Gets First Stakes Win In Perfect Sting At Belmont

Truth Hurts, trained and co-owned by Chad Summers with J Stables, registered a dominant victory in Saturday's $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes for older fillies and mares contested at one mile over a sloppy and sealed main track at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The eighth running of the Perfect Sting was originally scheduled for one mile on the Widener turf course before inclement weather forced the race to the main track, resulting in the scratches of Honey Cake, Princess Grace, Sunset Kiss, Madita, and 4/5 morning-line favorite Viadera.

Truth Hurts, entered for the main track only, added blinkers and the services of Belmont Stakes-winning rider Luis Saez to secure her first stakes win in her fifth attempt.

Multiple graded-stakes placed Piedi Bianchi broke alertly under Flavien Prat and marked the quarter-mile in 23.88 seconds and the half-mile in 47.54 under outside pressure from Truth Hurts on the sloppy and sealed main track.

Main-track only entrant Velvet Crush, the 3-5 mutuel favorite under Jose Ortiz, stalked the pacesetters from third position into the turn as Truth Hurts took over from Piedi Bianchi and established a three-length lead at the stretch call.

Truth Hurts, the longest shot on the board at 8-1, continued to find more down the lane and powered home a 5 3/4-length winner in a final time of 1:37.48.

Piedi Bianchi completed the exacta, three lengths in front of Velvet Crush. Hogans Holiday, who trailed throughout, completed the order of finish.

Summers said the equipment change proved beneficial.

“She was getting better and better and we were just waiting for the right time to put the blinkers on her,” said Summers. “We put it on her last week and at that point, we were ready for an allowance race at Saratoga, but we saw the weather forecast here. We thought if it came off, we'd take a chance, and then we played the waiting game.

“My filly was ready, and we got the call around 12 or so that it was taken off the turf,” Summers added. “Everything worked out well. Luis was able to come in and it worked out.”

Saez said he felt confident throughout.

“She broke pretty nicely. She was right there behind the speed,” said Saez. “At the three-eighths [pole], she was very comfortable. She came out of the stretch and responded really well.”

The 4-year-old Tonalist bay graduated at first asking in December 2019 at Aqueduct Racetrack and followed with a smart optional-claiming win in January 2020 at the same track.

Bred in Ontario by William D. Graham, Truth Hurts continued her 3-year-old year with off-the-board efforts in the Busanda Stakes at the Big A and the Audubon Oaks at Ellis Park ahead of a good third in the Bison City at Woodbine in September. Truth Hurts completed a busy sophomore season with an eighth in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico.

A $35,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, Truth Hurts notched her first win in four starts this season. She banked $55,000 in victory and returned $18 for a $2 win ticket.

Summers said Truth Hurts is rounding into form and will target opportunities at the Saratoga summer meet.

“We tried the Black-Eyed Susan and it was maybe a little too aggressive at that time,” said Summers. “We gave her some time off after that and it was just about getting her back into shape. She made some good moves.

“You lose the two-other-than condition now, but we'll regroup and go from here,” Summers continued. “With the prestigious meet in Saratoga coming up, there's always spots that are open, so we'll see once again if she belongs in that upper echelon as the racing gets tougher.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont with a 10-race Independence Day card highlighted by the $100,000 Manila Stakes in Race 9 and the $250,000 Grade 2 John A. Nerud Stakes in Race 10. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

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Grade 1 Winner Viadera Headlines Saturday’s $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes

Multiple graded stakes-winners will comprise an accomplished field in Saturday's $100,000 Perfect Sting for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up competing at one mile on the Widener turf course at Belmont Park.

The Perfect Sting is one of two stakes on the Saturday card, including the Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban Handicap that is a “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

While the eighth edition of the Perfect Sting is not graded, the resume of the participants provides a big-race pedigree, highlighted by Juddmonte's Grade 1-winner Viadera.

The Chad Brown trainee will be making her 5-year-old debut after capping 2020 with three consecutive stakes scores by slim margins, starting with a win by a neck in the one-mile De La Rose in July at Saratoga Race Course in her second North American start.

The British-bred daughter of Bated Breath posted another victory by a neck in the Grade 3 Noble Damsel going one mile on the Belmont turf in September and concluded her successful year by edging Blowout by a nose in the Grade 1 Matriarch going one mile in November at Del Mar, earning a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

Viadera, who has been training at Saratoga leading into the Perfect Sting, won three of her first nine starts in Ireland and Great Britain before being shipped to the United States and transferred to Brown's care.

Joel Rosario will ride from post 9.

Susan and John Moore's Princess Grace also will be making her seasonal bow off graded-stakes success, with the 4-year-old Karakontie filly concluding her sophomore year with a 2 3/4-length win in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere moved off the turf in November at Churchill Downs.

Princess Grace has won three of her four starts, getting her picture taken in her first two outings before earning a personal-best 88 Beyer for a runner-up effort in her stakes debut when she finished just a half-length back to Stunning Sky in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Valley View in October at Keeneland.

“She's a small, feminine looking filly but she runs huge in her races and everything she does is game and all heart,” Stidham said. “Those kind don't have to be big and powerful, they just have what it takes inside and she seems to have that.”

Luis Saez will have the call from post 3.

Piedi Bianchi has won three stakes on dirt but earned black type going seven furlongs on the turf last out, finishing just 1 1/2 lengths back to Change of Control in a strong runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Intercontinental on June 3 as part of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

Owned by Jay Oringer, Jack Bick, Al Bianchi Racing, Adam Bayroff and Mike Maturo, Piedi Bianchi, whose experience at Belmont includes a third-place finish in the 2020 Grade 2 Ruffian on Big Sandy, put in a strong breeze going five furlongs in 1:01.55 on June 20 over the Belmont inner turf. Trainer Carlos Martin said her workout sustained her progress after earning an 86 Beyer for her Intercontinental effort.

“She showed another dimension last time and ran her best turf race. She really ran a terrific race,” Martin said. “We only got beat by Change of Control, who is one of the better turf fillies out there. She's keeping the momentum and I'm optimistic. We'll see. It just came up a very tough race for a listed stakes. This looks like a Grade 2 field.”

Piedi Bianchi, who won her first stakes in the Frances Slocum in 2018 before adding wins last year in the Correction at Aqueduct Racetrack and another in the 2020 edition of the Frances Slocum at Indiana Grand Race Course, will be seeking her first turf win in five starts.

The Overanalyze grey will break from post 4 under Flavien Prat.

Augustin Stable's Honey Cake, an Irish-bred daughter of Siyouni who last raced in November when winning the seven-furlong Prix Ceres at the Fontainebleau in France, will make her first start in the United States.

Transferred into the care of Jonathan Thomas, the 4-year-old Honey Cake has been breezing at Belmont, including a five-furlong work in 1:01.80 on the inner turf Sunday.

Honey Cake will look to return off a seven-month layoff and show the form that led to four wins in eight starts in France to begin her career.

“She came with a nice resume,” Thomas said. “We're just hoping to pick up where it left off. She's a beautiful filly and seems to have a lot of class and had some good works on the turf. She's shown a very nice turn-of-foot.”

Manny Franco will ride from the inside post.

Team Valor Racing and Everything's Cricket Racing's Madita, the runner-up in the One Dreamer in September at Kentucky Downs, will make her first start in more than eight months for trainer Arnaud Delacour, drawing post 7 with Hall of Famer John Velazquez in the irons. The German-bred Madita, making her 6-year-old bow, will be looking for her second win in seven starts since arriving from her native country in 2019.

Rounding out the field are Hogans Holiday [post 2, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] and Sunset Kiss [post 6, Jose Lezcano]. Truth Hurts and Velvet Crush are entered for the main-track only.

The Perfect Sting is carded as Race 9 on Saturday's 10-race program. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

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