Break Even (Country Day) took her record to a perfect four-for-four with a dominant score in the GIII Eight Belles S. to kick off the Kentucky Oaks day stakes action at Churchill Downs.
Slightly favored at 2-1, the dark bay rocketed out to the front and zipped through early fractions of :22.08 and :44.14 over a sloppy, sealed track. Still going strong turning for home, the Klein homebred was kept to task down the lane by Shaun Bridgmohan and never slowed down, cruising home to an impressive victory.
Romping by five lengths in a sloppy off-the-turfer on debut at Fair Grounds on New Year's Day, Break Even followed suit with another open length score in a NOLA optional claimer Jan. 28. She captured Oaklawn's Purple Martin S. last out Mar. 30.
“This filly is very fast,” winning trainer Brad Cox said. “And I think the most impressive thing about her is how laid back she is. A lot of times horses that go that fast are horses that tend to be keyed up and want to over train in the mornings. Not this filly. She just gallops around each morning nice and easy with her ears up. It's almost like [champion] Monomoy Girl to some degree, she was laid back like that. Same thing with this filly. For such a lightly raced filly, she's very mature.”
As for what's next Cox added, “I was already thinking today we're going to find out if we need to look at the [GI] Acorn [S. at Belmont June 8] or the [GII] Prioress [S. at Saratoga Aug. 31]. It's something we can look at. It's something we're going to nominate to for sure.”
Pedigree Notes:
Break Even's sire Country Day carried the Kleins' lime silks to a trio of stakes victories and was also runner-up in the 2011 GII Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint beneath the Twin Spires. Break Even becomes the second graded winner for her sire, joining last year's GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint S. winner Will Call. Exotic Wager, a 22 1/4-length debut winner at Turfway Park, was purchased by Bertram Klein for $285,000 at the 2001 Keeneland April 2-Year-Old Sale. She was previously a $110,000 KEESEP yearling. Exotic Wager is also the dam of the stakes-placed Hey Bro (Congrats) and a yearling colt by Country Day. This is the extended female family of GISW The Lumber Guy (Grand Slam).
Friday, Churchill Downs
EIGHT BELLES S. PRESENTED BY DERBY CITY GAMING-GII, $250,000, Churchill Downs, 5-3, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:22.13, sy.
1–BREAK EVEN, 118, f, 3, by Country Day
1st Dam: Exotic Wager, by Saint Ballado
2nd Dam: Right Chanel, by Valid Appeal
3rd Dam: General Chanel, by General Holme
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Klein Racing; B-Richard Klein &
Bert Klein (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Shaun Bridgmohan. $148,800.
Lifetime Record: 4-4-0-0, $287,400. *1/2 to Hey Bro
(Congrats), SP, $252,128. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Bell's the One, 118, f, 3, Majesticperfection–Street Mate, by
Street Cry (Ire). ($155,000 Ylg '17 FTKJUL). O-Lothenbach
Stables, Inc. (Bob Lothenbach); B-Bret Jones (KY); T-Neil L.
Pessin. $48,000.
3–Queen of Beas, 118, f, 3, Flatter–Wild Bea, by Wild Rush.
($170,000 Ylg '17 FTSAUG). O-Kingsport Farm; B-James Arrison
(KY); T-Jorge R. Abreu. $24,000.
Margins: 5HF, 1HF, HD. Odds: 2.20, 23.50, 5.50.
Also Ran: Proud Emma, Bizwhacks, Mother Mother, Del Mar May, Lyrical Lady, Take Charge Angel. 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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