NYRA/Adam Coglianese
By Sarah Mace
Paradise Farms Corp.’s Free N Clear (Bluegrass Cat), claimed out of her second start on February 15 for $25,000 by trainer Patrick Quick, captured Thursday’s Saratoga feature, the $100,000 Statue of Liberty division of the New York Stallion Stakes for eligible New York-sired 3-year-old fillies, which was run at one mile on the inner turf over a firm track.
Free N Clear, who started out on dirt, has flourished on the grass for her new connections. Switched to the green following her third start on the Aqueduct inner in February, where she missed breaking her maiden by a nose at the $40,000 claiming level, she graduated next out and since then has been keeping allowance company. On July 17, she cleared her first-level state-bred allowance condition at 1 1/16 miles at Belmont when she defeated older fillies and mares by 1 1/4-lengths.
Setting up in third in the second flight after the break, Free N Clear rushed up briefly along the backstretch to press leader Louisville First, who was pursued by Ametrine, then took back into third.
Jockey Junior Alvarado explained, “She broke very good. Coming into the first turn, I couldn’t ask for any better position. On the backside, I wanted to apply some pressure so they wouldn’t slow it down any more, and then I eased off by the half-mile pole.” The opening splits went in 24.74 and 49.01.
NYRA/Chelsea Durand
Stalking now with intent, the bay filly was asked for more rounding the turn and, at the head of the stretch, began her ultimate bid. Passing Ametrine and eroding Louisville First’s lead in upper stretch, she took over with a sixteenth to go and edged off to a half-length victory.
Ametrine finished 2 1/4 lengths back in third, while Highway Star and Frosty Margarita dead-heated for fourth, followed across the line by Lady Lucky and Naked Empress. The final time for the race was 1:36.94. [VIDEO]
Alvarado said, “At the quarter-pole, I asked her, and she gave me a nice kick. I knew I had enough horse, and by the eighth pole I knew I was going to go by. The other horse [Louisville First] made my job a little tougher, but I knew what kind of horse I had.”
Patrick Quick reported, “She’s a beautiful-looking horse. She came in second the time before we claimed her in a maiden New York-bred $25,000 race [her debut]. So she came in second and chances are she would be good enough to break her maiden, at least. Fortunately, she came in second the day we claimed her, also, so this way we were able to break her maiden, and then we tried her on the grass. She’s better on the grass. And she’s matured a little bit. As they get older, they get a little stronger.”
The veteran trainer added, “I think this is my first stakes win in Saratoga.” He was correct. “I might have won one before here,” Quick continued, “but I’m not sure. I’m getting old; I forget things. This was a great experience — it was wonderful. Anytime you can win a race here, it’s great. And if you win a stakes race, it’s just really, really great.
Quick concluded, “We only get lucky once in a while and claim and get lucky, and then we claim and we don’t do any good. That is the way the business goes. We just kind of got lucky with her.”
From three lifetime wins, two seconds and a third, the newly-minted stakes winner has earned $146,930.
Bred by Blueflight LLC, Free N Clear is one of three winners, and the first black type winner from three starters out of Mama I’m Home, a Florida-bred multiple stakes-placed winner out of Wheaton who last changed hands when purchased by Tom Priola for $3,500 at the Keeneland November sale. The mare currently has a yearling colt by Big Brown named Sidd Finch who has not started and weanling colt by Discreet Cat. She was bred this year to Shackleford.
