Frost Giant’s Baby Boss surprises at 23-1 in NYSS Park Avenue

By Sarah Mace

While making her stakes debut in her fourth career start, Neal M. Allread’s Baby Boss got no respect at the betting windows. Let go at odds of 23-1 in Saturday’s $100,000 Park Avenue division of New York Stallion Stakes series for eligible New York-sired 3-year-old fillies, Baby Boss belied her odds, proving both speedy and game when she led the field gate-to-wire through 6 1/2-furlongs to get the win by a length.

Turning back from a mile in her prior start, Baby Boss was the first to strike the lead from post five following the opening scrum. She set up in the three path to lead the field of nine through a sharp opening quarter-mile in 22.76.

Tucking into the rail position late in the backstretch, Baby Boss maintained her one-length advantage over presser My Roxy Girl in second and saved some ground as the half went in 46.28, but midway around the far turn, My Roxy Girl and Orchid Party menaced directly to Baby Boss’s outside.

With urging, Baby Boss shook off both foes in upper stretch. Under a left-handed whip in the final panel, she held on to win by a length over a resurgent My Roxy Girl in a strong final time of 1:16.85.

My Roxy Girl in second, was followed another length back by Orchid Party, returning for Rudy Rodriguez on just three days’ rest. Next in order across the wire were Aunt Babe, favorite Pure Silver, Baby Boss’ stablemate Wegetsdamunnys, Cathy Naz, Our Super Nova and Giant Boxer. [VIDEO REPLAY[2]]

Baby Boss paid $48.80 for a $2 win-bet and had a hand in triggering a pick-5 and pick-6 carryover into Aqueduct’s closing day, where there is a mandatory payout for both pools ($18,071 pick-6, $48,700 pick-5).

“Going to the lead wasn’t the plan, but I wasn’t going to get in her way,” said winning jockey Manny Franco. “She put me in that position, so I’ll take it. She took me there, but I wasn’t going to go out of my way … Today, she broke sharp and I just left her there and she responded very well for me.”

After establishing the lead, the pilot then felt that it was just a matter of playing “catch me if you can.” Said Franco, “I knew they were going to have to run to catch me. I felt pressure a little bit, but I knew I had horse left under me.”

In her lone start as a juvenile for trainer Jeremiah Englehart, a maiden special weight at Finger Lakes last September, Baby Boss showed speed before tiring to fifth over off-going. Returning for her sophomore season, she graduated in a $40,000 state-bred claiming race on January 26 from a stalking position. Unclaimed in that race, she stretched out to a mile while moving up into a first-level New York-bred allowance on March 11, just missing when out-finished by a neck by Park Avenue Rival Our Super Nova.

Englehart felt his filly appreciated the turnback Saturday. “She had a tough draw,” said Englehart, “but I think the cutback … helped coming back from racing a mile. I still think she’d be OK going seven-eighths to a mile. If you look at the race she broke her maiden she rallied behind horses, so she’s definitely versatile and picked up a nice win today.”

Bred by Eric Bishop, Baby Boss is a daughter of Frost Giant, who stands at Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions LLC[4], and currently sits in a virtual tie with Freud as the leading sire in the state.

Baby Boss is the first winner out of Wild in Montana, a winning Kentucky-bred Yankee Victor mare. Owner Neal Allread purchased Baby Boss for $23,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile sale for $23,000. The filly has now earned $96,380 from two wins and a second in four starts.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2018/04/21/baby-boss-nyss-park-avenue/

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