Head of Plains Partners homebred Fluffy Socks posted a sharp victory in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Sands Point, garnering a 91 Beyer Speed Figure in the nine-furlong inner turf test for sophomore fillies at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Trainer Chad Brown said following the race that the now two-time graded stakes winner could potentially target the $300,000 Grade 1 American Oaks on December 26 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
Fluffy Socks, with the red-hot Joel Rosario up, split rivals down the lane to overtake pacesetting stablemate Higher Truth and fended off the late rally of stakes winner Runaway Rumour to secure a narrow neck score.
Fluffy Socks is by New York-based stallion Slumber, who stands at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, New York.
“Joel gave her a great ride. She consistently shows up,” said Brown's assistant Dan Stupp. “We've always really liked her. She really came through yesterday and came out of the race great.”
Fluffy Socks, who sports a consistent ledger of 10-4-3-1, entered the Sands Point from a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., on August 21. She notched her previous graded stakes triumph at the California oval when completing her juvenile season with a victory in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante.
All four of Fluffy Socks' wins have come over different ovals. During her 2-year-old season, she broke her maiden at second asking at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., en route to a victory in her stakes debut in the Selima last October at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.
Jeff Drown, Michael Ryan, and Team Hanley's Higher Truth earned black-type for the fourth straight race, finishing less than one length of victory all four times. The daughter of Galileo set an easy pace upfront and was poised for victory in the stretch run but was ultimately collared by Fluffy Socks inside the sixteenth pole.
Higher Truth, who contested all three legs of NYRA Turf Triple series for fillies, saw a considerable cut back in distance from the 1 3/8-mile Jockey Club Oaks Invitational, where she was a close second beaten three-quarters of a length. She previously was a respective second and third in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational and Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational.
“She comes up a touch short in her races, but she's been very consistent,” Stupp said. “I think she has a bright future ahead of her and she'll get better with age. She'll definitely stay.”
For the second week in a row, Brown secured a triumph in a major stakes race at both Belmont Park and Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Some 90 minutes after the Sands Point, Shantisara bested stablemate Technical Analysis in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.
Owned by Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and Robert V. LaPenta, Shantisara tracked Technical Analysis' moderate fractions from third down the backstretch and took command in upper stretch to win by five lengths, earning a 99 Beyer.
Last week, Brown notched the exacta in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic with Rockemperor and Serve the King before Blowout and Regal Glory ran one-two in the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland.
“It's been a fun run here the last few weeks,” Stupp said. “Shantisara has trained extremely well here since she arrived at Belmont. They did great with her at Saratoga. She had a nice campaign and a lot of confidence. You could see it in her training that she moved forward all throughout the fall. She just looked great before she left.”
Shantisara's Queen Elizabeth II victory followed triumphs in the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational and the Grade 3 Pucker Up at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill.
“Off that [Jockey Club] Oaks victory in the fall, you could just see how much she was improving,” Stupp said.
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