Peter Brant's blossoming turf star Bleecker Street stormed from off the pace to win the $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes (G2) in handy fashion Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs and remain undefeated.
The 4-year-old Quality Road filly, ridden by Hector Diaz Jr., won by 3 3/4 lengths from stablemate Rocky Sky and covered the 1 1/8 mile turf race for older fillies and mares in 1:48.21 on a course rated as good.
Gladys, who set the early tempo, finished third.
Relaxing off the pace, Bleecker Street raced along the rail into the far turn before angling out four wide approaching the upper stretch and racing clear as the 9-5 favorite.
“I rode her really confident because I know what she is capable of doing,” Diaz said. “No pressure. I was just waiting for the moment to switch outside because I knew she was going to run. She's really easy to ride. The last two starts she's been a different horse. When you ask her to go, she accelerates. She has an amazing turn of foot. The course was softer than she likes. That tells me how good she is.
“She can overcome any type of situation. When you ask her, she's going to respond. That's what separates the good horses from the great horses. The sky is the limit with her.”
Bleecker Street's victory was her fifth in as many career starts, all on turf, and followed her triumph in the Endeavour Stakes (G3) at the Oldsmar, Fla. track in her stakes debut Feb. 5
The top two finishers are trained by Chad Brown, who snagged a fifth victory in the Hillsborough.
“We're really happy about the 1-2 finish with Bleecker Street and Rocky Sky,” Brown said. “(Bleecker Street) really ran well. We were on the fence about sending her because I wasn't that confident how she would handle soft turf, but by the time we loaded them from Payson Park this morning it looked like the rain was moving through quicker than had been forecast and the wind might dry out the course. She really loves Tampa, so we decided to give it a shot. She was super impressive and handled the give in the ground well. It certainly looked like the added distance didn't bother her, so hopefully she can keep stepping up.”
A $400,000 purchase by Brant's White Birch Farm at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale, Bleecker Street was produced by the Exchange Rate mare Lemon Liqueur.
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