Lightly-raced Ratajkowski strikes in stakes debut to win Empire Distaff

By Sarah Mace

The finale of the stakes portion of 2019 Empire Showcase Day card at Belmont Park Saturday, the Empire Distaff Handicap, attracted a robust field of 11 New York-bred fillies and mares eager to contest a one-turn mile at Belmont Park for a purse of $250,000. The field was eclectic as well as bulky, and the winner, Gary Broad’s Ratajkowski, who just held at the wire for a first career stakes victory, had the most unusual resume of them all.

A 5-year-old daughter of Drosselmeyer trained by Brian Lynch, Ratajkowski did not start for the first time until May 25 of this year, when she finished third in a state-bred maiden special weight at 6 1/2 furlongs. Lynch said Ratajkowski was always highly regarded, but had lots of minor issues that kept her out of the starting gate.

When finally given the opportunity to compete, she rewarded the patience of her connections by doing virtually nothing wrong. Breaking her maiden second out by 3 1/4 lengths in the slop on June 20 at Belmont going six furlongs, she immediately stretched out in distance.

Her next three efforts in state-bred allowance company yielded a close-up second and a win at Saratoga in July and August and, most recently, an eye-popping 10 1/2 length rout going 1 1/16 miles at Belmont on September 11. Right on top of a fast pace from the start, the mare clocked an impressive final time of 1:41.87 for which she was awarded a Beyer Speed Figure of 90.

Sent off as the post time favorite in each of her five prior starts, Ratajkowski was a well-supported 3-2 second choice in the large Empire Distaff field. Jockey Jose Ortiz, aboard for all previous starts, had the return call and the pair was drawn in post 10.

Out of Orbit from post six and Ratajkowski on the outside, both with ample speed, contested the lead in the early stages, with Out of Orbit eventually setting the opening splits of 22.79 and 45.71. Ratajkowski bided her time for a while, but drew back even with the leader through the far turn and took command.

A little erratic in upper stretch Ratajkowski, shook off would-be challenger Newly Minted to her outside but a new threat materialized in the form of 20-1 Our Super Nova who was closing menacingly at rail.

In the end, the wire came just in time for Ratajkowski to hold on by a head, stopping the clock at 1:35.45. Our Super Nova in second finished 4 3/4 lengths ahead of Held Accountable in third, who also closed from well back. Favorite Newly Minted completed the superfecta. [VIDEO REPLAY[3]]

“She’s a nice filly,” Ortiz said. “She had plenty of speed. She broke well and [Out of Orbit] was there and I knew I could go by whenever I wanted to. I just wanted to make sure I knew where my other competitors were. I didn’t want to make an early move either because when she makes the lead, she kind of waits. That’s what happened there.”

As to the harrowing final strides of the race, Ortiz said, “I thought [Newly Minted] was going to keep coming to her and dig in with her and she couldn’t keep up. She lost concentration a little bit in the final sixteenth and she almost got caught on the inside [by Our Super Nova]. She was game enough the last couple of jumps to get the win, so I was happy about that.”

Erin Lynch, assistant Brian Lynch, said, “She’s just been improving with every start. Kudos to Gary Broad [owner] for being so patient with her in waiting until she was five to make her debut. She has paid him back full on. She’s just been phenomenal and been amazing to be around. She does everything right and she just carries the riders around there. She ships very well and has gotten used to it. She’s all business and we’re impressed with the way she got it done here today.”

In a six-race career Ratajkowski has four wins with one second and one third and has earned $286,340.

Bred by John P. Hicks and H & H Farm, Ratajkowski is the first stakes winner for Quiet North, a Kentucky-bred unplaced daughter of Quiet American. Quiet North produced five other winners and delivered her final foal in 2015.

 

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/10/19/ratajkowski-empire-distaff-handicap/

---

Fifty Five Wins her third straight Ticonderoga Stakes

By Bill Heller

What separates good horses from great ones is consistency. And Peter Brant’s five-year-old New York-bred mare Fifty Five is a shining example.

On Saturday on Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park, Fifty Five backed up her 1-5 odds under Javier Castellano in the field of six with a professional, one-length second consecutive victory, which was her sixth straight New York-bred stakes victory and her third straight Ticonderoga Stakes. Her victory made Fifty Five racing’s newest millionaire.

These days, any horse even running in the same stakes three successive years is rare. Winning them all? That’s special.

“She’s been super consistent for us,” her trainer Chad Brown said. “What a pleasure to have in the barn. I can’t think of a horse who deserves to be a millionaire more than her because she earned it the hard way, a lot of starts and a very consistent record.”

Probably the safest record in all sports is the one New York-bred Fourstardave set, winning a race at Saratoga for eight consecutive years.

Fifty Five won’t match that, but Brown indicated that Brant would like to race Fifty Five next year at the age of six. That would give her a shot at four straight Ticonderoga Stakes.

She won her third one Saturday by wearing down front-running longshot Wish Upon and Luis Saez, who went off at 26-1 on the rail in the field of six.

War Canoe, who was 5-1 under Jose Lezcano finished third, three-quarters of a length behind Wish Upon while 2 3/4 lengths ahead of 7-1 Munchkin Money and Junior Alvarado.

Empire Equines bred Fifty Five, a daughter of Get Stormy out of Soave by Brahms who followed a fourth by a half-length in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa Stakes at Saratoga with a three-quarters of a length score in the $125,000 John Hettinger Stakes for New York-breds.

Likely because of the small field, Castellano kept Fifty Five closer to the early pace than usual, two to three lengths off while racing in fourth as Wish Upon led War Canoe by less than length through splits of :24.19, :48.20 and 1:11.73.

Wish Upon then put away War Canoe as Fifty Five charged up three-wide to challenge the frontrunner. Wish Upon proved a stubborn foe, but Fifty Five had her measured and won comfortably, edging away at the wire. [VIDEO REPLAY[3]]

“She showed her versatility today,” Brown said. “She laid a little bit closer. I think the runner-up ran particularly well. She was tough to get by in the lane.”

Castellano was proud of his filly: “She’s very classy and she showed it today.”

Fifty Five is now 11-for-22 in her all-grass career with four seconds and five thirds. That’s 20 finishes in the money from 22 starts.

Her victory today pushed her earnings past the $1 million mark.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/10/19/fifty-five-ticonderoga-2019/

---

Captain Bombastic edges Cleon Jones in exciting Sleepy Hollow

By Bill Heller

Grimly holding on, Team Hanley’s unbeaten colt Captain Bombastic and Jose Ortiz edged Cleon Jones and Irad Ortiz Jr. by a short head in the one-mile $250,000 Sleepy Hollow Stakes for two-year-old New York-breds on Empire Showcase Day Saturday at Belmont Park. Both horses are trained by Jeremiah Englehart. Captain Bombastic was 6-1 and Cleon Jones 7-2 in the field of six.

“Both horses ran really well,” said Englehart, who earlier Saturday saddled Maid of the Mist winner Critical Value and finished third with Pat on the Back in the Empire Classic. “I was glad they were able to go 1-2. It was a great day for the barn.”

Harris Bay, who was 2-1 with Dylan Davis in the saddle, finished third, 3 3/4 lengths behind Cleon Jones. City Man, the 9-5 favorite on the rail adding Lasix under Joel Rosario, broke last and finished fourth, a neck behind Harris Bay.

Chester and Mary Broman bred Captain Bombastic, a son of Forty Tales out of Stolen Star by Cat Thief who sold for $80,000 as a two-year-old in March. Captain Bombastic was making just his second career start after winning a maiden race by 2 1/4 lengths under Irad Ortiz Jr. on Sept. 28.

Cleon Jones, who won $145,000 Bertram F. Bongard Stakes by head under Irad Ortiz Jr. in his previous start on Sept. 20 at 6-1, was trying to win the Sleepy Hollow 50 years and two days after the Miracle Mets won the final game of the 1969 World Series not too far away from Belmont Park at Shea Stadium. Cleon Jones (the horse) is named for the Mets’ left fielder.

Irad Ortiz Jr. elected to ride Cleon Jones in the Sleepy Hollow, opening up the mount on Captain Bombastic, an assignment his brother Jose accepted.

Captain Bombastic got away second on the outside of front-running 5-1 Three Jokers and Luis Saez while Cleon Jones settled in fourth. Three Jokers led Captain Bombastic by a neck after a first quarter-mile in :23.31, then by three-quarters of a length after a half-mile in :46.26.

Captain Bombastic drew within a neck of Three Jokers after three-quarters of a mile in 1:10.30. Cleon Jones had rallied into third by then.

Captain Bombastic then struck the front, opening a length and a half lead in mid-stretch as Cleon Jones advanced into second. Cleon Jones steadily closed in on Captain Bombastic, who was up to the challenge. They battled heads apart to the wire with Captain Bombastic gamely holding on. [VIDEO REPLAY[3]]

“When I asked him at the quarter pole, he responded beautifully,” Jose Ortiz said after winning his third race of the afternoon. “It was a great training job by Jeremiah.”

Now two-for-two to begin his career, Captain Bombastic has earned more than $170,000.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/10/19/captain-bombastic-sleepy-hollow/

---

Pauseforthecause takes no prisoners in Iroquois Stakes

By Sarah Mace

Following the triumph of Mr. Buff in the Empire Classic two races earlier, Chester and Mary Broman picked up a second 2019 Empire Showcase Day stakes victory at Belmont Park Saturday when homebred Pauseforthecause, a 4-year-old filly by Giant’s Causeway, won her first black type event in front-running fashion, taking the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes for filly and mare sprinters at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Pauseforthecause tipped her hand that a black type win in her eighth stakes try was well within her grasp. On September 12 she dominated an open second-level allowance at Belmont, winning by 5 1/2 lengths after going winless since last December 2018.

Well supported at windows odds of 7-2 in wide-open eight-horse field and partnered with Jose Ortiz, Pauseforthecause wasted little time before throwing down the gauntlet, making the lead by the first point of call and opening up by two lengths.

Blitzing through early splits of 22.51 and 45.05 three lengths ahead of 7-2 Carrera Cat, Pauseforthecause cruised at will, never feeling the hot breath of a challenger behind her. Completing six furlongs in 1:09.11, she stopped the clock a 3 1/2-length winner in a final time of 1:15.62.

Fair Regis (6-1) advanced from third to finish second, another three lengths ahead of Holiday Disguise in third. Completing the order of finish were Jc’s Shooting Star, Carrera Cat, Filibustin, Satisfy and More Mischief. Outsider Wadidli Princess was scratched. [VIDEO REPLAY[2]]

Chester Broman said, “[Pauseforthecause] has been training well. Her last race was a very good race. She deserved to win the race today.” Broman added, in his typically understated, way, “It’s been a good day. That’s what we’re doing; we’re trying to breed the better horses.”

Jose Ortiz, who took over riding duties from John Velazquez who was not available Saturday, reported, “Honestly, she ran very good last time with Johnny. I watched that replay and I knew the nine horse [Carrera Cat] had speed, but being on the outside, I didn’t know if they wanted to go too fast. My filly has won from behind too, but our plan was to break well and see where [Carrera Cat] would go.”

He continued, “After we broke sharp, I was able to take the lead and take command. I didn’t walk, but I was comfortable the way she was traveling on the lead. I was very confident passing the three-eighths pole. I could’ve waited a little longer, but I was confident. Kiaran has done an amazing job and I’m just happy they gave me the opportunity to ride one of their horses.”

McLaughlin added, “It looked like there was some speed inside and outside. She really likes a clean face and when she broke so well, Jose said, ‘No one wanted to go, so I just went.’ He made a good decision. She ran that way last time for Johnny [Velazquez]. He wasn’t here today, so we were happy to have Jose. She was sharp. She broke and went.”

The conditioner also paid well-deserved a compliment to the Bromans. “There’s been no one in the last decade more supportive of New York-bred racing than Chester and Mary Broman. It’s fabulous to see them win with Mr. Buff [in the Empire Classic] and then with this filly. No one deserves it more on this kind of day than them. They’re great owners and wonderful people.”

Pauseforthecause, who has four additional stakes placings in state-bred races, including a third in last year’s Iroquois to stablemate Highway Star, now sports a record of 6 wins from 22 starts with four seconds and six thirds. After the Iroquois victory she boosted her earnings $461,043.

Pauseforthecause is the most successful offspring of Spritely. A Kentucky-bred multiple stakes winner by Touch Gold, the mare was purchased by Chester Broman from the Edward P. Evans Dispersal at the 2011 Keeneland November sale for $850,000. Spritely’s talented Pioneerof the Nile filly Tossup was the Lynbrook Stakes runner-up last year, and a juvenile colt by Super Saver has not started. She has a yearling colt by Curlin and was bred this year to West Coast.

 

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/10/19/pauseforthecause-iroquois-stakes/

---

Chad Brown’s newest star Build to Suit wins Hudson Stakes

By Bill Heller

As yet another example of the brilliance of Chad Brown, who is well on his way to a fourth consecutive Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding trainer, Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence’s five-year-old ridgling Build to Suit notched his first stakes victory on Empire Showcase Day Saturday at Belmont Park, drawing away late to a 2 1/2 length triumph in the $150,000 Hudson Stakes under Manny Franco. Sent off the 6-5 favorite on the rail in the field of eight, Build to Suit won his second consecutive race in 1:15.88.

Front-running Eye Luv Lulu, who was 6-1 under Irad Ortiz Jr., salvaged second, three-quarters of a length ahead of 8-1 T Loves a Fight and Luis Saez. Gold for the King, who was 5-2 with Joel Rosario riding, finished fourth, a length and a quarter behind T Loves a Fight. Gold for the King was second by three-quarters of a length in last year’s Hudson Stakes.

Spendthrift Farm bred Build to Suit, a son of Dominus out of Aspen Mountain by Chief Seattle, who began his career by winning a maiden race by three-quarters of a length only to be disqualified and placed second. Build to Suit then posted three victories and two thirds, the last on October 13, 2017.

An injury knocked Build to Suit out of action for more than 15 months, but he returned better than ever, a tribute to Brown’s incredible proficiency of winning races off long layoffs. Build to Suit won his open allowance return by 6 1/4 lengths with Franco aboard for the first time on Jan. 26 at Aqueduct at 4-1.

Though Build to Suit had been out again for 6 1/2 months, Brown upped the ante by entering Build to Suit in his first stakes, the $100,000 John Morrissey, at Saratoga Aug. 4. Sent off at 5-2, Build to Suit lost a nose bob to Celtic Chaos.

Build to Suit then won an open allowance race at 1-5 by 2 1/4 lengths Sept. 14. That set up Build to Suit perfectly for the Hudson, when he would again face Celtic Chaos.

Franco settled Build to Suit in fourth as Eye Luv Lulu and T Loves a Fight duked it out on the front end. Eye Luv Lulu nursed a narrow lead on T Loves a Fight through slow fractions, a quarter-mile in :23.24 and a half-mile in :46.06.

As they continued their battle through the stretch, Franco angled Built to Suit to the far outside and he kicked in quickly, blowing past the dueling leaders to win going away.

“By the five-sixteenths pole, I just tapped him, and he responded very well,” Franco said.

Brown deferred credit for Build to Suit’s performance. “We got a lot of help from Bruce Jackson down at Fair Hill,” Brown said. “He and his team did a great job with this horse. He sent this horse back to us in good shape, and he’s running as good as he ever was. He won’t do anything that would get you excited in the morning. He always runs a little bit better than I think he’s going to. He’s a real cool horse to be around and he’s earned everything that he gets. He’s all heart.”

Build to Suit is now six-for-10 with two seconds, two thirds and earnings of more than $340,000. [VIDEO REPLAY[3]]

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/10/19/chad-browns-newest-star-build-to-suit-wins-hudson-stakes/

---

Bold middle move lands Mr. Buff in Empire Classic winner’s circle

By Sarah Mace

With only five horses entered, the 44th running of the $300,000 Empire Classic Handicap at 1 1/8 miles was run as race five on the Empire Showcase Day card at Belmont on Saturday, but there was no question that the race featured one of the blockbuster matchups of the day: the clash of divisional leaders Mr. Buff and Pat On the Back.

Pat On the Back, recent winner of the Grade 2 Kelso Stakes and a new millionaire, was looking for a repeat win in the race after capturing the Empire Classic last year and leaving Mr. Buff to pick up the pieces in third. The John Kimmel-trained Mr. Buff, a 5-year-old gelding by Friend Or Foe and third generation homebred for Chester and Mary Broman through the male line, was looking to turn the tables and replicate an achievement of his sire, who won the Empire Classic in 2010, also for Kimmel. In the end Mr. Buff successfully spoiled the title defense and reversed last year’s results with a decisive – and winning – middle move under Junior Alvarado.

Mr. Buff exited the gate alertly as the 3-2 second choice, but shortly ceded the lead to Not That Brady, who carved out the opening half-mile in 47.38. Pat On the Back (3-5) tracked in third.

Cruising comfortably at the rail along the back stretch, Junior Alvarado made a decisive move in the approach to the far turn, darting up the rail and taking command with five furlongs to go.

Mr. Buff opened up some daylight on Not That Brady and Pat On the Back, and in the stretch Pat On the Back took the first run at him but by that time had too much to do. Instead, 9-1 Dynamax Prime emerged as the main threat, closing well into second.

Mr. Buff dug in to hold his advantage (albeit on the wrong lead), ultimately getting the big victory by one length. After one mile in 1:35.63, the final time for nine furlongs was a solid 1:48.65. Pat On the Back finished third another two lengths back, followed by Blugrascat’s Smile and Not That Brady. Mr. Buff is something of a nine-furlong specialist, now with seven wins in 10 tries at the distance. [VIDEO REPLAY[2]]

“We always have multiple plans,” said Junior Alvarado after his second stakes victory of the day, having won the Maid of the Mist earlier aboard Critical Value. “He broke well. I made sure to get him out of there running. I even thought I could get the jump on everyone, but I let [Not That Brady] get to the lead, so I just let him run a little bit more.

“I had to make an early move to make sure I didn’t get stuck behind the horse in front and it worked out. When he gets in front, he gets into a cruise control there. He just carried me along the way.”

Alvarado concluded, “He’s very easy to ride. He’s not a complicated horse. You just have to let him do his thing; don’t get in his way, don’t try to pull, and don’t make him do something he doesn’t want to do.”

John Kimmel said, “I don’t know if he was at his best today, because when Junior [Alvarado] made that early move and took that inside route, it looked like he didn’t have enough to pick it up. He’s such a big-striding horse, it looked like he had the horse to his outside measured pretty well.

“I knew we had horse turning for home and I wanted them to get on their outside lead. I’m going ‘change your lead, change your lead.’ He never changed his lead. Junior said he didn’t want to take his forward momentum away by trying to make him change. He said he had plenty of horse in there, so he stayed on that left lead from the half-mile pole to the wire.”

Kimmel is looking forward to the future. “He’s as good a New York-bred as there is. I think this horse is going to have a chance to do something bigger against open [company] down the road. He didn’t have a very good trip in the Woodward. He’s a gelding. He’s going to be around for a long time for us to enjoy.” Mr. Buff tired after setting the pace in the Grade 1 Woodward at the Spa on August 31 in his previous start.

Mr. Buff has won 11 of 32 starts, with six seconds and four thirds. The Empire Classic is his fifth stakes victory to go along with wins in the open Jazil Stakes and state-bred Alex M. Robb, Evan Shipman and Saginaw Stakes. He has earned $869,536.

Mr. Buff’s dam Speightful Affair is a graded stakes placed Ontario-bred by Speightstown, who was purchased by the Bromans for $80,000 at the Fasig-Tipton 2013 winter mixed sale.

In 2018 Speightful Affair produced a full sister to Mr. Buff. Unfortunately, her 2019 foal by Friend or Foe, who stands at Smallwood Farm in Virginia, was stillborn. She has been bred this year to Accelerate.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/10/19/mr-buff-empire-classic-19/

---

Gucci Factor noses Voodoo Song in a terrific Mohawk Stakes

By Bill Heller

Castleton Lyons’ six-year-old gelding Gucci Factor, who didn’t get a fair start in his previous race, and Barry Schwartz’s five-year-old home-bred Voodoo Song, who had struggled to regain his outstanding form from a year ago, staged an epic stretch battle in the mile-and-a-sixteenth $200,000 Mohawk Stakes Saturday afternoon with Gucci Factor and Joel Rosario nailing front-running Voodoo Song and Jose Lezcano in the final stride for a nose victory in the grass stakes, one of eight for New York-breds on Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park.

Gucci Factor was 9-5 and Voodoo Song the slight 8-5 favorite in the accomplished field of five. All five had more than $270,000 in career earnings.

The gray Hoboe, who was 22-1 under Manny Franco, finished third, a length and a quarter behind Voodoo Song while a nose in front of 3-1 Offering Plan, who won last year’s Mohawk by six lengths, and Javier Castellano.

Highclere-bred Gucci Factor, a son of Gio Ponti out of Shoo In by Dynaformer, is trained by Christophe Clement. Gucci Factor had won three consecutive starts heading into the $125,000 Ashley T. Cole Stakes on Sept. 22. Sent off the 8-5 favorite under Rosario, Gucci Factor never had a chance. He was moving around and being adjusted by an assistant starter when the gate opened. His slow start left him 13 lengths off the pace early in the stakes, and he did well to rally for sixth, 3 1/2 lengths behind winner Dot Matrix, who went off at 7-2 in the Mohawk Saturday and finished last in the five-horse field.

Voodoo Song, meanwhile, seemed to finally be back on his game after winning the Grade 1 Fourstardave Stakes at Saratoga in 2018. He finished fifth, 12th, eighth and seventh in his next four starts before running a much-improved second by a half-length to Dot Matrix in the Ashley T. Cole.

In the Mohawk, Voodoo Song zipped to the lead like he usually does, while Gucci Factor followed a normal start by getting away fourth.

Dot Matrix tried to put pressure on Voodoo Song, who led by a length to a length and a half through an opening quarter-mile in :22.96, a half-mile in :46.14 and three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.40.

When Dot Matrix tired, Gucci Factor rallied into second, and he quickly cut into Voodoo Song’s length-and-a-half cushion. Gucci Factor drew within a neck of Voodoo Song inside the sixteenth pole and inched closer with every stride as Voodoo Song dug in and gamely gave every ounce of energy he had left.

In a thrilling finish, Gucci Factor pushed a nose ahead in the final strides before the wire. [VIDEO REPLAY[3]]

“It was a fun race to watch,” Clement said. “I thought Voodoo Song was very game in defeat. Both horses were very game. I’m grateful to Joel. It was a remarkable ride and it made the difference. Joel knows that horse well and believes in him and it works.”

Gucci Factor, who has now won six of his last eight starts, improved his outstanding grass record to seven-for-10 with one third. That includes five victories and a third in eight starts at Belmont Park. Gucci Factor also has one win, one second and one third from six dirt starts for total earnings of more than $550,000.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/10/19/gucci-factor-mohawk-stakes/

---

Critical Value relishes stretch-out in Maid of the Mist

By Sarah Mace

Ten Strike Racing’s homebred Critical Value by Bodemeister, rallied vigorously in the stretch to capture the 23rd running of the $250,000 Maid of the Mist Stakes which kicked off the stakes portion of the 2019 Empire Showcase Day program. The one-turn mile for juvenile fillies was the first of eight state-bred stakes with a combined purse of $1.75 million on the all-New York-bred card that annually showcases the top performers of the state’s breeding program at Belmont Park in the fall.

Trained by Jeremiah Englehart, Critical Value has flashed ability in two prior starts, both at Saratoga. Unveiled on August 7, she came just a nose short of catching stablemate Thea’s Theme. Wheeling back in three weeks she broke her maiden at the Spa as the odds-on favorite going six furlongs. Since then, the bay filly has posted a steady series of breezes pointing toward this race. At the time of the draw, Englehart said, “I do believe she wants to stretch out, so [the Maid of the Mist] was always her next race after her maiden win in Saratoga.”

Breaking from post three under Junior Alvarado, aboard for both prior starts, Critical Value set up outside of horses in the clear, sitting a co-fourth in the early stages. Up front, Monmouth shipper Good Credence led the way through splits of 23.68 and 47.53, pushed along by Saratoga Beauty.

Covering up even money favorite Naked Avenger along the backstretch, Critical Value went even wider in the turn, lost ground and landed in fifth midway round. Then, the blaze-faced filly seemed to rebreak and scampered up to join Good Creedence and Naked Avenger to make it three across the track just as the drive began.

Critical Value overhauled both rivals by midstretch, then spurted ahead in the final furlong on her way to a decisive 5 1/2-length win in a final time of 1:37.07 over the fast going. Naked Avenger came back to get up for second, a neck in front of Good Creedence in third. Firenze Freedom, Knight Train and Saratoga Beauty completed the order of finish. (VIDEO REPLAY[3])

Junior Alvarado explained that his filly dictated the drop-back in the turn. “I was in the clear the whole time. I was probably rushing her to be a little closer and I don’t think she was happy with that. She was telling me to leave her alone, so I waited until the five-sixteenths pole to make the run and she gave me a big explosion. I think she was just the best horse today.”

Englehart followed up, observing, “On the turn, it looked like she was falling back and Junior felt like it was only because he was asking her that she just didn’t respond to that. When he got her back against the bridle, she made the move and kudos to Junior to know that she’s still a 2-year-old and she’s still learning. His persistence definitely paid off.”

The conditioner added that Critical Value has been a pleasant surprise. “When Marshall [Gramm, partner Ten Strike Racing] sent her to us at Saratoga, we weren’t exactly sure what we had, but she’s one of those horses who just does everything that you ask her to do. She hasn’t been the flashiest of the 2-year-olds this year, but she’s been one of the most consistent and that really paid off today.”

Bred by Marshal K. Gramm and Clay Sanders, who compete as Ten Strike Racing, Critical Value is one of four winners from four foals to race and first stakes winner out of See the Forest, a Kentucky-bred winner and six-figure earner by Forestry claimed by Gramm for $12,000 out of a race at Philadelphia Park in 2010. Her second dam is New York-bred millionaire Critical Eye, the winner of five graded stakes including the Grade 1 Gazelle Handicap in 2000 and Grade 1 Hempstead Handicap in 2001.

See the Forest has a yearling colt by Munnings, a weanling by colt by Midnight Lute and was bred this year to Goldencents. From two wins and a second, Critical Value has earned $196,000.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/10/19/critical-value-maid-of-the-mist/

---