SV Photography
By Sarah Mace
Barry Ostrager’s grey/roan homebred filly Wharf Cat became the first progeny winner for Majestic City on Monday afternoon when she won an open 5-furlong maiden special weight at Finger Lakes. A multiple graded stakes winning son of City Zip, Majestic City stands in New York at Ostrager’s Questroyal North in Stillwater for a syndicate; his 2019 stud fee was $3,500.
Favored to win at odds of 1-4 on the strength of a solid runner-up finish in her debut at Finger Lakes on July 15 for trainer Oscar S. Barrera, III, Wharf Cat exited post one cleanly. Fourth in the opening strides, she immediately began an earnest pursuit of third-time starter Beautiful Amaila, who got a jump on the field, crossed over from post seven and opened up daylight early.
Handled vigorously by Jockey Jaime Rodriguez, Wharf Cat made up ground on the inside of horses and, by the approach to the far turn, advanced into second position, 1 1/2 lengths behind the pace-setter who completed an opening quarter in 22.58.
Coming out into the two-path, Wharf Cat chased with determination in upper and mid-stretch and in the final sixteenth, changed leads and found another gear. She erased Beautiful Amaila’s advantage and got up in time to secure the victory by a neck. Following a quarter in 46.83, Wharf Cat stopped the clock after five furlongs at 1:00.51. [VIDEO REPLAY]
Wharf Cat, who has earned $21,200 in two starts, is out of Harbor Cat, a stakes-winning Indiana-bred. Ostrager purchased the mare for $20,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.
Majestic City was a precocious 2-year-old for Bloom Racing Stable, winning his first three career starts. After breaking his maiden with a wire-to-wire victory in his career debut at Hollywood Park, he scored back-to-back open-length stakes victories at the same venue: the Willard Proctor Memorial and Grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile Championship. Majestic City enhanced his juvenile tally with a pair of Grade 1 runner-up efforts in the Del Mar Futurity (where he was subsequent placed third by the stewards) and Keeneland’s Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity.
From four to six, Majestic City continued to pick up stakes wins and stakes placings, winning the Big Bear Stakes at Santa Anita at four and Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap at six, and placing in the Grade 3 Berkeley H., Grade 3 Razorback H. and Grade 3 Precisionist. He retired with five wins, four seconds and four thirds from 30 starts with $582,960 in earnings.
A half-brother to stakes-placed Backstreet Hero (by Street Hero), Majestic City is out of the winning Meadowlake mare It’schemistrybaby, whose dam Not So Pleasant (by Pleasant Tap) is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Vashon (Seattle Dancer). He has 32 foals of racing age.
