Antonoe Goes Last to First in Just A Game

Antonoe | Sarah Andrew

Antonoe, last of seven behind a moderate early pace, exploded up the rail in the stretch to annex the GI Longines Just a Game S. at Belmont.

Capturing her first two career starts in France, a 'TDN Rising Star'-earning maiden win and the G3 Prix d'Aumale, the dark bay was 8-5 in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac in the fall of 2015, but ran seventh, and went winless in her next three starts, eventually being transferred from the Pascal Bary barn after running 11th in the G3 Prix de Lieurey last summer.

An easy winner of a Keeneland allowance in her Stateside debut for Chad Brown Apr. 14, the dark bay took strong support to be 31-10 in this spot off of an 8-1 morning-line quote.

Off at the back of the pack, Antonoe settled toward the rear down the backstretch as last year's narrow GI American Oaks runner-up Sassy Little Lila rattled off tepid splits of :23.70 and :46.92. Advancing under quiet handling on the turn, the Juddmonte homebred flew into contention with a big rail rally at the eighth pole and ground down the frontrunner late to register a career high.

“I don't think that I've ever had a horse in my training career come home that fast on turf, at any distance, at any level,” Brown revealed. “I confess that at the three-eighths pole, even the quarter-pole, I was a little concerned. My horses were last and second-to-last. I didn't see a scenario where they'd be able to close that much ground on a quality field in front of them. This filly was very impressive today to make up that much ground.”

Winning rider Javier Castellano added, “We got the post on the outside and I had to let her go a little bit because she didn't show a lot of speed. I had to ride her European style; a lot of patience [and] save all the ground the best I could. She cut the corner turning for home. It worked in the finish. You don't see too many horses that [can do] the way she did today. She's really strong. I'm really happy with how she did today. The way she showed me today, the longer, I think, the better.”

Pedigree Notes:

Antonoe is the unraced Ixora's second-to-last produce. She shares her second dam with the G1SW Mutual Trust (GB) (Cacique {Ire}). Antonoe's third dam is Juddmonte's 1992 G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp winner and G1 Epsom Oaks runner-up All At Sea (Riverman). Prince Khalid Abdullah also campaigned and bred the winner's sire, runaway 2008 GI Forego S. hero First Defence, whose other Grade I winner Close Hatches defeated Beholder (Henny Hughes) in the GI Ogden Phipps S. on this program three years ago.

Saturday, Belmont Park
LONGINES JUST A GAME S.-GI, $687,000, BEL, 6-10, 4yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:32.12, fm.
1–&ANTONOE, 113, f, 4, by First Defence
1st Dam: Ixora, by Dynaformer
2nd Dam: Imroz, by Nureyev
3rd Dam: All At Sea, by Riverman
'TDN Rising Star' O-Juddmonte Farms, Inc.; B-Millsec, Ltd. (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown; J-Javier Castellano. $375,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-0-1,
$491,377. Werk Nick Rating: A.[bullet ad=”kbif-g1″]
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sassy Little Lila, 113, f, 4, Artie Schiller–Sharp Apple, by
Diesis (GB). ($115,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Sheep Pond Partners
& Michael J. Ryan; B-John A. Chandler (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
$130,000.[bullet ad=”stonestreet-trainingalum”]
3–Dickinson, 121, m, 5, Medaglia d'Oro–Little Belle, by A.P.
Indy. O-Godolphin Racing LLC; B-Darley (KY); T-Kiaran P.
McLaughlin. $70,000.
Margins: 3/4, NO, 3HF. Odds: 3.10, 8.60, 3.60.
Also Ran: Harmonize, Celestine, Prize Exhibit (GB), Roca Rojo (Ire). Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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