Collegeville Girl scores first stakes victory in Iroquois upset. Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo.
They may have beaten the logical Central Banker progeny in the $125,000 Iroquois Stakes Saturday on Empire Showcase Day, but they couldn’t prevent the productive New York stallion from being represented in the winner’s circle in the sprint stakes for fillies and mares.
Collegeville Girl, a daughter of Central Banker out of the Vindication mare Lifelong, came from last and mowed them down in the stretch to win the Iroquois by a half-length at 23-1 odds.
“She deserved another shot here,” said winning trainer Richard Vega, who bought the filly for $18,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale for Robert Brittingham, Salvatore De Bunda and Wire to Wire Stable. “She only got beat 1 length in the stakes race (Union Avenue) at Saratoga.”
Coming off an even third in an optional claimer at Parx Racing, Collegeville Girl got the setup that she and jockey Joel Rosario wanted, closing into a fast pace of :45.54 for the half-mile. Bertranda and Spin a Yarn contested the fractions, with Timely Tradition sitting third. Dylan Davis took Timely Tradition to the lead in the stretch, but could not hold off the closers. Prairie Fire ran second to complete a $414 exacta. Timely Tradition finished a neck back in third with 5-2 favorite Newly Minted ninth of 10.
“I know she has a closing kick,” said Vega. “Rosario told me he lost his whip; he did it all with his arms. She carried him all the way to the wire.”
“I could see there was a lot of speed in front of me and I thought some of that speed would come back to me and we could hit the board, but she put in a really good run in the last part and really impressed me with her performance,” Rosario said.
Collegeville Girl, bred by Andy Beadnell and foaled at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, became Central Banker’s second-leading earner in 2020 with $155,258. Her career earnings improved to $270,526.
Central Banker, who stands at McMahon of Saratoga, ranks second among New York stallions in progeny earnings in 2020, just behind Big Brown.
“He’s a good stallion and good stallions can stand anywhere, but we choose to keep him here because New York needs a good stallion like that,” Joe McMahon said earlier this year. “If he can continue to get 100 mares a year, that’s good business for our farm.”
Central Banker, a 10-year-old Grade 2-winning son of Speightstown, was bred to 114 mares in 2020 according to the Report of Mares Bred released Friday by The Jockey Club. – Paul Halloran
Bustin Stones gelding Tribecca scores in Hudson
Ronald Brown’s Tribecca bided his time in the allowance ranks since his last stakes appearance in October 2019 but when he returned in the Hudson Handicap he was up to the task to add a second stakes win to his resume.
The Chris Englehart-trained gelding out-broke the field and was quickly away with the lead in the 6 1/2-furlong stakes. Pressured throughout by Arthur’s Hope, Tribecca found another gear in the stretch and quickly put away that rival. He built his lead from there and scored by 3 lengths in 1:16.01.
“I love Tribecca. I rode him first time out four years ago and he won and he seems to find his way back to me,” winning jockey Kendrick Carmouche said. “He tries so hard. He proved today that if he can break out of there and get him to a slow pace, I know he’ll want to go from there. I’d like to thank Chris and Ronald Brown and now we’re in the winner’s circle.”
Bred by Laurel Least and Joseph Lech, who privately acquired Tribeca’s dam Heck after her racing career, Tribecca was foaled at Foggy Bottom Farm in Geneseo and a $10,000 purchase at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale.
Bought by Gary Sciacca from the Foggy Bottom Farm consignment, Tribecca was claimed a few times throughout his career before Englehart dropped a slip for $25,000 at Saratoga in 2019 on behalf of Brown.
The gelding won that race and hasn’t looked back, earning his first stakes victory two months later in the Leon Reed at Finger Lakes. A winner of three of his five starts in 2020, the Hudson Handicap took Tribecca over the $600,000 career earnings mark.
Tribecca is one of three winners from three to race out of the three-time winning Heck. That New York-bred mare is also a half-sister to the stakes winning New York-bred Socialsaul and two other stakes placed runners. Heck also has a Revolutionary yearling filly that sold for $10,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga fall mixed sale to Tribecca’s owner and visited Bustin Stones for a full sibling to Tribecca this year.
Bustin Stones, a 16-year-old son of City Zip who bred 40 mares in 2020, stands for $5,000 at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham. – Melissa Bauer-Herzog
