It was two years ago when trainer Shug McGaughey followed Florida's Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve to a second-place finish with Code of Honor in the Run for the Roses.
Tag: Racing
White Frost Reels In Con Lima In Sweetest Chant At Gulfstream
Gainesway Stable's homebred White Frost made her sophomore and stakes debut a winning one, powering through the stretch to run down favored Con Lima for a one-length victory in Saturday's $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
The 26th running of the one-mile Sweetest Chant for 3-year-old fillies on the grass was the fourth of five graded-stakes worth $600,000 in purses, immediately preceding the $200,000 Holy Bull (G3), Gulfstream's next step for 3-year-olds on the road to the March 27 Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1).
Ridden by Junior Alvarado for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, White Frost ($11) hit the wire in 1:34.45 over a firm course for her second straight win. The daughter of Candy Ride graduated with a 1 ¼-length maiden special weight triumph Nov. 21 at Aqueduct in her previous start.
“I thought Junior gave her a super ride out of there,” Mott's assistant, Kenny McCarthy said. “I know beforehand, the boss mentioned that maybe [Con Lima] had the speed of the race and maybe [Lionessofbrittany] early, so the plan was to tuck in early on, save some ground and call on her turning for home and see if she had an answer. And, boy, she sure did answer.”
Breaking from Post 5 in the field of eight, Alvarado found himself between horses in the early stages trailing all but two horses through six furlongs as Con Lima, winner of the Ginger Brew Jan. 1 at Gulfstream, ran splits of 24.16 seconds, 48.26 and 1:11.66 pressed by Lionessofbrittany, exiting back-to-back turf sprint victories.
“She broke very sharp. Going into the first turn, things got a little tight, but I had enough filly to hold my spot,” Alvarado said. “I was a passenger the whole way around. I just had to show her where to go and find the room turning for home. After I put her in the clear, she has such a nice turn of foot. It made my job very easy.”
Alvarado was able to weave his way through traffic until finding room at the head of the stretch, tipping out into the opening and setting his sights on Con Lima. White Frost steadily gained ground down the center of the course to reel in Con Lima, who was a length better than Domain Expertise in third, followed by Candace O, Honey Pants, Queen of the Green, Director's Cut and Lionessofbrittany.
“It was pretty exceptional, because they hadn't gone that fast early so you figure everyone's going to be running home a little bit,” McCarthy said. “Once Junior put her in the clear, she really accelerated and showed them a nice clean pair of heels.”
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Zaajel Starts Slow, Finishes Fast To Win Gulfstream’s Forward Gal
Shadwell Stable's Zaajel, a striking bay 3-year-old filly by Street Sense, stepped up from a maiden victory in her debut to a graded victory in Saturday's $100,000 Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Luis Saez, Zaajel took the lead entering the stretch from pacesetter Queen Arella to win the Forward Gal by 1 ¼ lengths. Lady Traveler, making her first start since the Golden Rod (G3) in November, closed for the place and Wholebodemeister finished third, with Dial to Win fourth.
The top four finishers split 17 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points with 10 for first, four for second, two for third and one for fourth.
Zaajel covered seven furlongs in 1:24.72. She paid $3.20 to win as the odds-on favorite. The filly broke her maiden Dec. 20 at Gulfstream by 7 ¼ lengths.
Queen Arella went to the front in the Forward Gal and posted an opening quarter in :22.77 and a half in :46.03 before Zaajel, who broke second to last, cruised to the front entering the stretch under Saez and held safe to the finish.
“She was misbehaving in the gate and she missed the break a little,” Saez said. “After that, she just kept coming and everything went well, and she kept coming.”
“I was really pleased with the outcome. I was pretty concerned at the start. She got a little antsy in the gate and missed the break, and she put in a long, sustained run,” Pletcher said. “That's hard to do, especially in her second start going from a maiden to a graded stake. But she's trained like a quality filly and she overcame some adversity today so we're proud of her.”
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Will’s Secret, Court Upset Coach To Earn Kentucky Oaks Points In Martha Washington
Rallying wide into the stretch under veteran Jon Court, Will Horton Racing LLC's homebred Will's Secret won Saturday's $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes on a muddy track at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark. Coach, the 4-5 favorite from the Brad Cox barn, finished 5 1/4 lengths back in second, with Joy's Rocket third and Sylvia Q fourth in the field of six 3-year-olds competing for 17 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points (10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers).
A 3-year-old Kentucky-bred by Will Take Charge, who won an Eclipse Award for Horton as champion 3-year-old male in 2013, Will's Secret is trained by Dallas Stewart. He covered one mile on a muddy track in 1:38.7 and paid $18 to win.
Court allowed Will's Secret to sit in the pocket just behind pacesetter Joy's Rocket, who was engaged by Lady Lilly and Sylvia Q through much of the Martha Washington. Fractions were :23.1, :47.35 and 1:12.37 for the first six furlongs.
Court Will's Secret to the outside on the far turn, rallying around the three frontrunners and was four wide into the stretch. Lady Lilly was the first to yield, with Sylvia Q then dropping back. That left Joy's Rocket on the lead, and Will's Secret quickly put her away and drew off for the win. Coach was up late to get the runner-up spot under Florent Geroux by a half length over Joy's Rocket.
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