Officer Hutchy, claimed in mid-August for $25,000, returns on the investment in NYSS Park Avenue. NYRA Photo.
By Melissa Bauer-Herzog
Officer Hutchy quickly paid back her new connections with a half-length victory in Thursday’s Park Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series at Saratoga Race Course for her first stakes victory less than three weeks after being claimed for $25,000.
The race favorite tracked the leading Big Q in the early stages of the 6 ½-furlong race as the leader set fractions of :21.90 and :44.49 for the first half. Racing a few paths off the rail, Officer Hutchy was patiently ridden and turned into the stretch just behind the leader.
The filly waited until Dylan Davis asked her for her best to make a true run for the lead and engaged the then-leading Spin a Yarn in battle. Officer Hutchy proved to be the best in the shadow of the wire to win by half-length for trainer Rob Atras and owner Sanford Goldfarb.
The victory was the first stakes success for Atras, who gave full credit to her owner for deciding to claim her.
“I was expecting her to run well, but that performance really wowed me,” said Atras, winning his first stakes at Saratoga. “The credit goes to Sandford Goldfarb, who picked her out. It was his idea to claim the filly. She ran great. She broke running and Dylan put her in the perfect spot. He sat just off the pace and that other filly was tough to run down. She’s a nice filly so I was happy with my horse today.”
Winning over double her claiming price, Officer Hutchy took home $55,000 to pull within $6,000 of the $250,000 mark in career earnings. The Boys At Tosconova filly isn’t a stranger to stakes competition, finishing second in a Stallion Series event December when beaten 1 1/2 lengths by A Freud of Mama.
For Atras, trying to buy New York-breds is always a priority thanks to the options and money available to them through the New York-bred program.
“We always like to look for New York-breds,” he said. “They seem to always have more options and obviously better spots to run in and they run for great money. I tend to lean towards looking for New York-breds.”
Bred by Green Polka Farms, the filly is out of the Linda Rice-trained New York-bred Patriot Act mare A. P. Hutchy. A. P. Hutchy is out of a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Mulrainy and the dam of Grade 2 Fountain of Youth winner Soldat among others.
Officer Hutchy is one of two winners from two runners out of A. P. Hutchy, who has an unnamed 2-year-old full brother and a yearling full sister with the mare visiting Big Brown this year.
