NYRA/Chelsea Durand
By Sarah Mace
Chester and Mary Broman’s homebred millionaire Highway Star certainly ran well in her first five starts of 2018, finishing second in three of five stakes appearances, but had found the winner’s circle elusive. On Saturday, the 5-year-old daughter of Girolamo remedied the situation when she kicked off the stakes portion of the New York Empire Showcase Day card with a determined rally at the rail to capture the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes, contested at 6 1/2 furlongs. The Iroquois was the first of eight stakes races on the card worth $1.75 million.
The Iroquois drew eight fillies and mares after scratches and was highly competitive, but on paper Highway Star was the most accomplished of the bunch. She has been on a more-or less steady diet of graded stakes since the final start of her sophomore campaign, when she won the Grade 3 Go For Wand Handicap and, since then, has added three more graded stakes wins to her resume: the Grade 3 Distaff Handicap and Grade 2 Ruffian in back-to-back starts in 2017, and the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap. Also, in 2017 she came up just a head short in the Grade 1 Ballerina to By the Moon.
Partnered with David Cohen for the first time, and sent off as the 2-1 betting favorite, Highway Star was last out of the gate but managed to maneuver into position at the rail in the early stages, settling seven lengths off the pace which was set by longshot Royal Inheritance, who was pressed along by fellow longshot Filibustin.
Steadily working her way up into fourth by the far turn, Highway Star held her ground at the fence and cornered like a pro. Up front Pauseforthecause, also owned and bred by the Bromans, and up-and-comer Satisfy closed into contention. Filibustin folded, leaving Highway Star to battle it out with the other two.
NYRA/Coglianese Photos
In the final sixteenth, Highway Star dug in bravely at the rail in close quarters, overtook Pauseforthecause, who raced between horses and struck the front. Satisfy on the outside collared Pauseforthecause to finish second but could not reel in the gritty Highway Star who got the victory by a neck a final time of 1:16.08. [VIDEO REPLAY]
“I had a lot of horse underneath me,” said David Cohen. “The horse on the lead [Royal Inheritance] was getting out a little bit, so we just took advantage of that and ended up prevailing. She showed a lot of heart going through there, pushing through the hole, and fighting. She earned it today.”
Cohen appreciated the opportunity to ride a horse who has long been on his radar. “She’s a filly that I’ve been watching since I got back to New York and I’m fortunate to get an opportunity on her.”
Trainer Rodrigo Ubillo, for his part, thought Cohen handled his new mount extremely well, compensating well for a less-than-ideal break.
“She broke bad and was last,” Ubillo said. “She always breaks up front, so that worried me, but David got her toward the inside and she started moving pretty good right along the inside.
“He kind of hesitated a little bit about going outside or inside because the horse in front at the last second drifted a little so he went in. It seemed like she was just not even running at the end. She was probably waiting for the competition, because you could see her ears were pricked. She’s a cool horse.”
Ubillo explained how Cohen prepped for the race with a morning work. “David came to breeze her a week ago and he got a little feeling of her. She’s not a difficult horse to ride but she will fool you. In the mornings she will go very fast when it seems like she’s going slow. In the race, most of the time she breaks right on top and the jockeys, when you tell them to come a little from behind, they get a little freaked out and pull too much back.”
In 21 starts, Highway Star has won nine races, including six stakes victories, with five seconds and two thirds and earned $1,244,625.
Highway Star is one of four winners out of Stolen Star, a multiple stakes-placed homebred for the Bromans by Cat Thief and a half-sister to the Bromans’ multiple stakes winner and Friend or Foe, now a sire. Chester Broman purchased Stolen Star’s dam, Unbridled Star (Unbridled), for $115,000 at the 2002 Keeneland November Sale. Stolen Star was bred this year to Malibu Moon.
Highway Star’s sire Girolamo, a Grade 1-winning son of A.P. Indy owned by Darley, began his stud career in 2012 at Sequel Stallions New York before relocating to Kentucky
