Adam Coglianese
Patsy C. Symons’ Gitchee Goomie successfully defended her Mount Vernon title at Belmont Park on Sunday, winning a competitive renewal of the $125,000 1-mile turf stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares by one-half length over arch rival and last year’s New York Female Turf Champion Hessonite, a closing runner-up.
Making her third start of 2012 after back-to-back runner-up finishes in a third level Gulfstream allowance in March and, to Winter Memories, in the Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont on May 5, Gitchee Goomie was favored to win at odds of 6-5 under regular rider Alan Garcia.
After the break Garcia let Gitchee Goomie settle in comfortably in last position (of seven) from post three, as Risky Rachel, stretching out and making her turf debut after back-to-back dirt sprint stakes victories, showed the way, carving out early fractions of 25.34 and 50.64 on an uncontested lead.
Shortly after the completion of a half-mile, Gitchee Goomie began to move, picking off horses for the remainder of the backstretch run and through the turn. At the head of the stretch, she raced in fifth position four wide, one of five in with a chance.
In the charge for home Gitchee Goomie quickly took command and opened up a length on her rivals. Hessonite closed rapidly in the final stages, but Gitchee Goomie still had a half-length to spare when she hit the wire, stopping the clock at 1:38.64 over the turf course labeled “good.” Rogue’s Jewel, who tracked the pace, finished third, while Lisa Jean, Mystic City, Frivolous Buck and pacesetter Risky Rachel completed the order of finish. [VIDEO]
Jockey Alan Garcia said, “Sometimes she wants to get in trouble inside the gate, but today she was behaving. Even when [Mystic City, #1] started acting up a little bit, she was fine, she stood. I said ‘Great, if we break good, whatever she wants to do I’m going to let her be there.’ She was getting over the ground fine, she was happy, and when it was time to move I decided to move a little early to get a better position turning for home. She did it the right way.”
Winning trainer Rick Violette said, “She’s just so incredibly consistent. You look at her past performances, and this makes it 15 of 18 starts, she’s been first or second. It’s scary. I’d love to get a graded win under her belt. Last time, she ran a winning race, except for Winter Memories in front of her in the [Grade 3] Beaugay. She’s Grade 1 stakes-placed [third in the 2010 Garden City] and I’d love to win a Grade 2 or 3 with her. We might even give up a dance here just to point to something. She’s awfully fun.”
A 5-year-old daughter of City Zip, Gitchee Goomie now has four stakes victories to her credit – the back-to-back Mount Vernon wins, open Topicount and restricted Yaddo. She has also placed in six stakes, including a pair of runner-up finishes in the Grade 3 Beaugay and a third in the Grade 1 Garden City. Her career record now stands at 6-9-1 from 18 starts with earnings of nearly a half-million dollars ($498,020).
Bred by Barry R. Ostrager and foaled at Dutchess Views Farm in Pine Plains, Gitchee Goomie is one of two winners from four foals to start out of Riotous Miss, a stakes-placed Florida-bred daughter of Brief Ruckus, all of whose 13 victories came on turf ($382,310). Riotous Miss, who retired in 2004 after a remarkable 87 starts, spent nine months in Rick Violette’s barn in 1999-2000, winning two of four races. Gitchee Goomie’s older sibling, KY-bred Miss Rapture (Gulch), won eight times, including three times on grass, and earned $171,230.
Riotous Miss currently has a 2-year-filly by King Cugat named Platinum and Plush, an unnamed yearling full sister to Gitchee Goomie, and a weanling filly by Patriot Act.
