Adam Coglianese
Given no better than a 17-1 chance in the contentious field of eight 2-year-old fillies lined up for Thursday’s $80,000 Lie Low Stakes at Aqueduct, Patricia Generazio’s homebred Discreet Marq took the field wire-to-wire, while post time favorite Heart of New York completed an exacta of grey New York-breds.
Quickly into stride under Eddie Castro from post six, Discreet Marq gained the lead by the time she passed under the wire for the first time, then moderated the pace to a 49.37 half-mile after a 24.45 first quarter.
Keeping a comfortable margin down the back stretch run, Discreet Marq was asked for more at the top of the lane when Mariel N Kathy came calling. Discreet Marq dug in to get her first stakes victory by 1 1/4 lengths for trainer James Ryerson. Heart of New York, making a second career start after an electrifying last-to-first run in her debut, closed rapidly to get a head in front of Mariel N Kathy for the place. After three-quarters in 1:13.68, the final time for the mile over the firm Aqueduct turf was 1:37.64. The New York-bred exacta paid $171.50 for a $2 wager.
Discreet Marq broke her maiden by 4 1/2 lengths second time out, running 5 1/2 furlongs on firm turf at Saratoga in 1:02.91 for a Beyer Speed Figure of 80. Moving straight into stakes competition, the grey ran third in the open Voodoo Dancer Stakes at Belmont to two of Thursday’s rivals (New York-bred Flattermewithroses and Coconut Shrimp), then traveled to Laurel Park where she finished fourth by two lengths in the Selima Stakes on October 27. Her record now stands at 2-0-1 in five tries with $98,400 in earnings.
Foaled at Keane Stud in Amenia, Discreet Marq is a daughter of Discreet Cat out of the multiple stakes-winning Marquetry mare To Marquet ($198,236). She is the mare’s first stakes winner, but To Marquet has also produced two successful stakes performers on turf.
Stakes-placed Marquet Cat, a 7-year-old gelded son of Cat Thief, has earned $376,049 from 53 starts, most recently finishing third in the race following the Lie Low on Thursday. Stakes-placed Marquet Madness, a 5-year-old filly by Pico Central (BRZ), has earned $226,994.
To Marquet’s most recent reported foal is a yearling colt by Bluegrass Cat.
