It took every step of the Keeneland stretch for Yuugiri and Wicked Halo to decide the winner of the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes, and at the end of it, a fortuitous head bob at the finish line gave Yuugiri the win by a nose.
Saturday's victory also secured the 4-year-old Shackleford filly a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park.
Yuugiri broke quickly from the gate, and was placed on the lead several paths wide by jockey Flavien Prat, just outside of Happy Soul, while post time favorite Wicked Halo took command of the rail from the inside post. Happy Soul and Yuugiri put a couple lengths of distance on Wicked Halo, setting an opening quarter-mile in :22.12 seconds.
As the two leaders dueled through the turn, jockey Tyler Gaffalione moved up behind them aboard Wicked Halo and swung his mount three-wide to find an open lane. Those three were on practically even terms as they turned for home, going a half-mile in :45.48 seconds.
Happy Soul began fading as the three went around the quarter pole, leaving Yuugiri suddenly with the inside advantage after racing a couple paths off the rail, where Wicked Halo had begun the race. Wicked Halo appeared to have the momentum over her rival, as she gained a half-length after the three-sixteenths pole, but Yuugiri refused to relent, and began regaining ground in the final sixteenth of a mile.
The two horses drew even as the wire approached, but it still appeared as though Wicked Halo would hold Yuugiri off in the end. In the final stride, Yuugiri had just enough to get a nose in front in a head-bob battle. They were five lengths ahead of third-place Last Leaf.
“She was really game today,” Prat said. “When Wicked Halo went by us and took the lead, it felt like (Yuugiri) wasn't done yet and was just getting going. So I just kept pedaling and she was very game and brave.”
Yuugiri completed the six-furlong race in 1:10.44 over a fast main track. She paid $5.67 to win as the betting public's second choice.
Rodolphe Brisset saddled Yuugiri for owners/breeders Tsunebumi and Sekie Yoshihara. She is out of the stakes-winning Medaglia d'Oro mare Yuzuru, who was also campaigned by the Yoshiharas.
“I don't have to describe much (about the grit this filly has); I mean, she just showed it,” Brisset said. “She has a big heart and followed it to the wire and got her nose down. This one is sweet, you know? It's my first stakes (win) at Keeneland. It feels good. We're home here; we love Keeneland. To be able to win one like this here, it means the world.”
Saturday's victory improved Yuugiri's record to seven wins in 14 starts, with earnings of $1,191,670. It was her third win in her last four stakes, coming into the Thoroughbred Club of America off a victory in the listed Open Mind Stakes on Sept. 16 at Churchill Downs. Two starts prior to that, she won hte Saylorville Stakes at Prairie Meadows.
Yuugiri's modus operandi has been to focus on one turn during her 4-year-old campaign, but she had seen plenty of success at the route distance last year. She won the G3 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park ahead of a start in the Kentucky Oaks, where she set the early pace before fading to 13th.
If Yuugiri is successful in her bid for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, she would be the first horse to parlay the TCA into a win in that race since champion Groupie Doll in 2012.
“We've been in the game long enough,” Brisset said. “We know how to act ourselves – I mean, there's a little pressure – but we'll take care of her first, make a plan and see what happens. It's a big one for sure and we may be coming.”
The post Yuugiri Outduels Wicked Halo To Win Thoroughbred Club Of America Stakes, Earn Breeders’ Cup Berth appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
