Adam Coglianese
Selenite gave her New York-based sire Cosmonaut his first progeny stakes winner when she rallied from midpack to upset the field of the $100,000 Statue of Liberty division of the New York Stallion Stakes.
Trained by David Donk for William J. Punk, Jr. and Philip DiLeo – the connections that brought us multiple New York-bred champion Hessonite – Selenite was relatively ignored by bettors in the field of nine New York-sired 3-year-old fillies.
While Selenite was sent off at odds of 10-1, Donk’s two other entrants, Lady Kreesa (4-1) and Funky Munky Fever (5-1), attracted more attention. All three had competed in the NYSS Cupecoy’s Joy at Belmont Park on June 22. Funky Munky Fever finished second, Lady Kreesa third while Selenite was a well-beaten eighth. The trio was stretching out from the seven furlong turf sprint to a two-turn mile on the grass.
Racing off the rail in fifth in the early stages behind speedy pacesetter Henry’s Gal, Selenite angled out into the three path in upper stretch. The grey/roan filly rallied well and took over the lead with a little more than a sixteenth of a mile to go. Once in front, she opened up a comfortable margin, winning by 1 1/2 lengths.
Favorite Old Harbor, winner of the Cupecoy’s Joy, finished second followed by Henry’s Gal. Next across the finish line were Lady Kreesa, Saythreehailmary’s, Funky Munky Fever, Takeoff Your Hat, Missy Bay and Miss Narcissist. After a 47.66 half-mile, the final time for eighth furlongs over the firm inner turf course was 1:36.64. [VIDEO]
Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. said, “The day I broke her maiden, she was way back. She didn’t break that good that day. Today we wanted to make sure she breaks and got a good trip. We wanted to get the best trip we can and that worked for us today. She won. It was a very good trip, I guess. She was ready today.”
Summing up the race for all three of his charges, Donk said, “I really think they’re three decent fillies; they all have a future as they get older. [Lady Kreesa] slipped really bad coming out of the gate, I thought she would be up on the pace. [Jockey] Junior [Alvarado] wasn’t happy with the turf with [Funky Munky Fever]. They’re three decent fillies; I think they all appreciate two turns.”
As to Selenite, Donk said, “I think last time – seven-eighths, one turn – I probably can’t train a one-turn horse, and they went seven-eighths in 1:20 4/5 seconds. [Lady Kreesa and Funky Munky Fever] ran a really good race last time, and I was disappointed with the way [Selenite] ran. It’s nice for one of them to get the money.”
Bred by Flying Zee Stables, Selenite is the first foal out of Offhand Remark, a multiple winner by Western Expression who earned over six figures and is a half-sister to stakes winner Seeyouinmydreams.
The cleverly-named Selenite (literally “moonstone”) is now a three-time winner and earner of $151,903. She changed hands twice at public auction. Purchased by Ellen Kim for $11,000 at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October yearling sale, she brought $20,000 last year at the OBS spring sale of 2-year-olds.
Selenite’s sire Cosmonaut stands at Saratoga Stud, LLC.
