NYRA/Adam Coglianese
By Sarah Mace
Alan R. Cook’s Monmouth-based Filibustin (Bustin Stones) delivered a visually impressive performance at Belmont Park on Sunday afternoon when she led a full, contentious field from gate to wire to score a decisive victory in the seven-furlong, $150,000 Joseph A. Gimma Stakes for New York-bred juvenile fillies.
Having demonstrated speed to spare in her September 4 Monmouth debut, when she aired by more than eight lengths in a $40,000 claiming race, Filibustin was drawn at the rail in the 12-horse field with jockey Jose Lezcano in the irons and let go by bettors at odds of 11-1.
After staking her claim to the top spot shortly following the break, Filibustin led her rivals though solid early fractions of 22.69 and 46.60.
Extending her half-length lead to three lengths at the head of the stretch, Filibustin just seemed to gather momentum with every stride. None of the other fillies even got close as she opened up to a decisive 4 3/4-length victory.
After completing six panels in 1:11.44, Filibustin stopped the clock after seven furlongs at 1:24.38 over the “good” going. Tiznow’s Smile, 3-1 second choice, checked in second, followed across the line three-quarters of a length back by 5-1 Iron Miz. [VIDEO]
Said jockey Jose Lezcano, “I saw the replay of her first race where she ran on the lead. [Trainer] Greg Sacco told me to let her break and go on the lead, she’s competitive that way. She broke good and she kept going. She’s a really nice New York-bred filly.”
NYRA/Chelsea Durand
Sacco followed up, “We’re very happy, obviously, to have moved from the maiden ranks into the stakes ranks. There were a couple of stakes winners in the race and you never know if they’re going to take the next logical step. You’d like to go in an A-other-than and go through a natural progression but it’s hard to pass up a New York-bred stakes. The timing was good off her maiden win at Monmouth.”
Continued Sacco, “We originally wanted to run her at Saratoga but she missed a work with being sick and that kind of screwed up our plans. But she came out of that great and she’s trained really well. She’s done everything right in the mornings. We took a shot today and it all kind of worked out.”
Filibustin was bred by Luck Be a Lady Racing and foaled at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham, home of her sire Bustin Stones who stood for $2,500 in 2016.
The $101,970-earner is one of two winners from two foals to start out of Sweet Aloha, a West-Virginia-bred six-figure earner. Sweet Aloha has a yearling filly by Take Charge Indy, a weanling colt by Forty Tales and was bred back to the same sire in 2016.
