Ava K. – blue silks; winner Hot Summer - rail (Photo: Adam Coglianese)
Ava K. did not manage maintain her perfect record on Saturday for owners/breeders H. Lewis Rapaport and Sugar Maple Farm, but the three-year-old filly’s game third-place finish in the Grade 3 $150,000 Comely Stakes on the Wood Memorial undercard was nothing to sneeze at, entailing a leap to graded ranks to face a group of evenly-matched and worthy rivals.
A bay daughter of Dixie Union, Ava K. entered the Comely after beginning her career with three straight wins on the Aqueduct inner track. Her debut was a maiden-breaking 10 ¼-length romp on January 9 under Ramon Dominguez, and next out, on February 16, she teamed up with Junior Alvarado to win a restricted first-level allowance by 2 ½ lengths. In her stakes debut, the restricted $60,000 Proud Puppy Stakes on March 11, while stretching out from six furlongs to 1 mile and 70 yards, Ava K. got the win by three lengths. The filly’s move to graded company for the Comely seemed natural to trainer Michael Hushion: “After the [Proud Puppy] we decided this would be the obvious next step.”
Given that the line-up for the one-mile Comely was strong and evenly-matched – with the top five fillies in the field of seven all having run comparable high Beyer Speed Figures in the neighborhood of 80 – the wagering public seemed to latch on to Ava K.’s perfect record, betting her down to 7-to-5 favoritism as she went to post five under Eclipse Award-winning jockey Ramon Dominguez. Second choice at 2-to-1 was stakes-winner Her Smile, and Royal Sighting, who had just broken her maiden routing at Aqueduct by nearly 13 lengths, was third selection at 9-to-2. Fourth and fifth choices, both at 6-to-1, were Hot Summer, pacesetter in the Grade 2 Davona Dale, and stakes-winner R Holiday Mood.
R Holiday Mood and longshot Mysterious Chimes hooked up right after the break, but following a brief duel during the run up the chute, R Holiday Mood took over the lead, where she set a rapid pace for three-quarters of a mile, running the opening half in 46 flat and three quarters in 1:10.09. Mysterious Chimes prompted the pace, while Hot Summer pursued at the rail and Ava K. ran in the three path, with virtually nothing separating third and fourth, and only seven or so lengths separating the entire field from front to back.
Ava K. and Dominguez made a three wide move going into the far turn, circling R Holiday Mood and Mysterious Chimes, while Her Smile came four wide exiting the turn to challenge the frontrunners. Hot Summer, who got a rail-skimming ride under Luis Saez from her inside post, moved up in upper stretch, and scooted through on the inside at the sixteenth pole. Once Hot Summer grabbed the lead, the battle was on for second between Ava K., pacesetter R Holiday Mood, and Her Smile. In the end Her Smile managed to outkick Ava K. finishing 2 ¼ lengths behind Hot Summer, while Ava K. kept a head in front of R Holiday Mood for the show two lengths behind Her Smile. The final time for the one-turn mile was 1:35.58.
Ava K., whose career record now stands at 3-0-1 from four starts with $97,800 in earnings, is the first black type winner, and fourth winner in all, of five foals to start from Sugar Maple Farm’s stakes-winning New York-bred mare Bedside Manner by Dr. Blum, who earned $262,223 sprinting and routing, and ran a best Beyer of over 100. Offered for sale only once at public auction, Ava K. failed to meet her reserve after being bid up to $190,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale in 2009. Bedside Manner has a two-year-old filly by Pleasantly Perfect, a yearling filly by Purge and was bred last year to Langfuhr.
