Adam Coglianese
By Sarah Mace
Short fields can be tricky, so it takes nothing away from Bluegrass Flag that she faced only two rivals Saturday afternoon in Aqueduct’s $100,000, 6-furlong Cicada Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Avoiding all the potential pitfalls, she posted an elegant gate-to-wire victory, garnering a first black type win for owners Thomas C. Albrecht and Vincent J. Fusaro.
After the Cicada drew five entrants, early morning temperatures forced even-money favorite Sounds Delicious (103.8 degrees) and 4-1 third choice Wilburnmoney (102 degrees) to scratch the morning of the race, as reported by the Daily Racing Form.
After the remaining three exited the gate at the bell, Bluegrass Flag, the 1-5 favorite under Kendrick Carmouche, Bluegrass Flag hustled a little to gain the lead, then settled down three wide, a length ahead of Heavenly Score to her inside who was intent on applying pressure. Tiz Rae Anna chased in third not far behind.
Rationing out her speed through early fractions of 23.66 and 47.31, Bluegrass Flag began to shake off the persistent Heavenly Score in the turn, widened her margin under some urging and romped home a 6-length winner in a final time of 1:11.99. [VIDEO REPLAY]
Carmouche said, “I don’t take her out of her stride. She broke good, the track looked like it was playing the outside speed, so I just kept her in contention and let her relax going on the backside. She just went on from there. I asked her a little and put the stick away.” The pilot added, “[Trainer] Tom [Morley] and his team did a good job of getting her relaxed for this race.”
Bluegrass Flag, a daughter of former New York sire Bluegrass Cat, broke her maiden by three lengths at second asking in a New York-bred maiden special weight at Aqueduct on January 14. In the February 19 Franklin Square, she ran a persistent second to Wilburnmoney in the Franklin Square after setting the pace.
NYRA/Joe Labozzetta
After she got the job done in the Cicada, trainer Tom Morley observed, “With each start, she’s becoming more relaxed and professional. She ran a very good race in her first start. She was hooked extremely wide after missing the break and ran against a very good maiden field and ran a solid seventh. I wasn’t here when she ran second to Wilburnmoney. Apparently, she was a little hot beforehand, but today she was extremely relaxed.”
Continued Morley “I was kind of pleased when Terranova’s horse [Heavenly Score] came to us halfway around the turn because it almost looked like she was half-idling in front. Kendrick said she never really came out of third gear.”
Morley has the Park Avenue division of New York Stallion Stakes series on April 22 in mind for the filly’s next start. “She didn’t have a hard race today as well. It shouldn’t bring too many fears. Hopefully she’s all good tomorrow morning and one work and into the stallion series at 6 1/2 [furlongs].”
Bred by Susanne Hooper, James Hooper and Thomas Albrecht, and foaled at Haven Oaks Farm in Fort Edward, Bluegrass Flag is one of four winners of four to start, and first stakes winner out of No More Flags, a New York-bred multiple winner bred by the Hoopers. The mare has a juvenile by Posse and a yearling by Dublin on the ground, and was bred in 2016 to Stephanoatsee.
