Two more days, four more promising maiden winners at Saratoga and Del Mar! Here’s a quick recap of the 2yo racing action from August 9th and 10th:
AUGUST 9th
Saratoga Race 2: Maiden Special Weight for Fillies
8.5 furlongs on turf
The combination of Todd Pletcher as trainer, Coolmore as owner, John Velazquez as jockey, and Uncle Mo as the sire hinted that the first-time starter Thrilled might be a talented filly, and indeed she is! After settling in sixth through fractions of :23.23 and :47.74, Thrilled began to accelerate while rallying up the rail through six furlongs in 1:12.37, then continued to gain ground through the final furlongs to get up and win by a nose in the time of 1:42.62 seconds. Notably, she ran the final five-sixteenths in about :29 4/5, a very solid fraction! Harmonize, a first-timer starter from the barn of Bill Mott, set the pace and opened up a two-length lead in the homestretch before getting caught right at the wire, while Ava’s Kitten tracked the pace and stayed on well to finish third by 1 1/4 lengths.
Link to the Equibase.com chart of Thrilled’s maiden win
Link to the replay of Thrilled’s maiden win
Link to Thrilled’s pedigree
Saratoga Race 6: Maiden Special Weight for Fillies
5.5 furlongs on dirt
Steve Asmussen had the favorite in Constellation, a daughter of Bellamy Road, and after dueling with Graham Motion’s J La Tache through fractions of :22.22 and :45.88, Constellation kicked clear under urging in the stretch to win by an impressive 4 1/2 lengths in the time of 1:04.65 seconds. J La Tache hung on well to finish second by a length over Tiz Fantastic, who rallied from eighth to finish third in a promising debut.
Link to the Equibase.com chart of Constellation’s maiden win
Link to the replay of Constellation’s maiden win
Link to Constellation’s pedigree
Del Mar Race 7: Maiden Special Weight for Fillies
6.5 furlongs on dirt
Bob Baffert’s Jade Princess was the heavy favorite at 1.20-1, but after getting bumped at the start and dropping back to eighth place, she failed to put in a serious rally and wound up finishing fifth. In the meantime, Jerry Hollendorfer’s Surfside Tiara settled one length behind fractions of :23.03 and :46.66 before inching up to take command and draw away late to win by 5 1/4 lengths. The final time was 1:17.96 seconds. Dreamy Art set the pace and stayed on very well to finish second by 6 1/4 lengths over Hollendorfer’s second runner Dreamarcher, who rallied from seventh to finish third.
Link to the Equibase.com chart of Surfside Tiara’s maiden win
Link to the replay of Surfside Tiara’s maiden win
Link to Surfside Tiara’s pedigree
AUGUST 10th
Saratoga Race 1: Maiden Special Weight for New York-breds
5 furlongs on dirt
No Entiendo wasted no time securing the early lead, and after carving out an opening quarter-mile in :22.61, he kicked clear to lead by three lengths through a half-mile in :45.71 before holding off a sharp late run from Mind Your Biscuits to win by 1 1/2 lengths in the time of :57.80. Trained by Rudy Rodriguez, the son of Bellamy Road looks like a very talented colt! Mind Your Biscuits also ran very well, rallying from sixth after a bit of a slow start to gain three lengths on No Entiendo in the final furlong and finish second in a promising debut. New York Song ran evenly, rating about 2-3 lengths off the early lead before tiring slightly to finish third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Mind Your Biscuits.
Link to the Equibase.com chart of No Entiendo’s maiden win
Link to the replay of No Entiendo’s maiden win
Link to No Entiendo’s pedigree
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