Sweet Loretta, sent off a generous 22-5 given the success of the Todd Pletcher barn in the GIII Schuylerville S. at Saratoga, was produced down the center of the track and ran out a convincing winner of the opening-day co-feature. The victory, the sixth in the event for Pletcher, equals the record held to this point by his mentor D. Wayne Lukas.
The lanky bay filly was given a relatively soft introduction to the races and was the overwhelming 1-2 chalk for a five-furlong Monmouth maiden June 18. She made no mistakes on that occasion, sitting the garden trip from third before taking over at will at the head of the stretch and cantering in by some seven lengths. The waters were significantly deeper Friday afternoon, but Sweet Loretta proved more than equal to the task.
Last to leave the stalls, Sweet Loretta raced at the back of the pack early on as Maryland invader Inspired Flight (Orientate) out-quicked favored Made Me Shiver (Maclean's Music) to the front from between horses and laid down a swift opening quarter-mile in :21.68. Sweet Loretta had passed a couple of her fellow fillies entering the turn, but commenced her bid in earnest leaving the three-eighths pole and was beginning to draw in with every stride. Made Me Shiver wrested command from Inspired Flight and set sail for home, but her lead was short-lived, as Sweet Loretta was able to sustain the momentum and finished under a full head of steam for a convincing victory. Fun followed the move of the eventual winner into the stretch and came on for second ahead of Harland's Thunder in third.
“We didn't know what she ran against [in her maiden race] at Monmouth, but we liked the way she did it,” said Pletcher. “She looked like she did it with something in reserve but we knew this was a big step up in class. I told Johnny [Velazquez] in the paddock, 'I don't think she's as quick as some of these other fillies, just don't rush her off her feet. Give her a chance to get her legs underneath her.' It actually probably worked in her favor that she didn't break well.”
Pedigree Notes:
The 50th graded/group stakes winner for Tapit according to TDN Sire Stats, Sweet Loretta fetched $750,000 from bloodstock agent Jimmy Crupi on behalf of St Elias Stable at the Keeneland November Sale. That price was second only to the $3-million Bridlewood Farm paid for Tapit's daughter of Serena's Cat (Storm Cat) among the sire's foals sold in 2014.
Sweet Loretta is the first produce for her stakes-placed dam, a half-sister to American GISW and Sovereign Award-winning juvenile filly Spring in the Air (Spring At Last), who was purchased by the Lyster Family's Ashview Farm for $240,000 at the 2012 Keeneland November Sale.
Sweet Loretta's year-younger full-brother fetched $450,000 from Gatewood Bell's Cromwell Bloodstock to feature as the second-dearest offering at the recently concluded Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale. Ithinkisawapudycat foaled a filly by Street Sense Mar. 28 and was most recently bred to Constitution. The cross of Tapit over Storm Cat has yielded several black-type winners, most notably champion and freshman sire Hansen.
Friday, Saratoga Race Course
SCHUYLERVILLE S.-GIII, $150,000, SAR, 7-22, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:10.89, ft.
1–#@SWEET LORETTA, 119, f, 2, by Tapit
1st Dam: Ithinkisawapudycat (SP), by Bluegrass Cat
2nd Dam: Unbridled Run, by Unbridled
3rd Dam: Royal Run, by Wavering Monarch
($750,000 Wlg '14 KEENOV). O-St. Elias Stable; B-Ashview
Farm, LLC & Colts Neck Stables, LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher;
J-John R. Velazquez. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0,
$110,520. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++.[bullet ad=”ashview-co-bredraisedsold”][bullet ad=”crupi-trained”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″]2–Fun, 119, f, 2, Harlan's Holiday–Home Run, by Empire Maker.
($70,000 RNA Ylg '15 KEESEP; $95,000 RNA 2yo '16 OBSMAR).
O-Dennis Farkas; B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY);
T-Ian R. Wilkes. $30,000.[bullet ad=”dromoland-bredbornraised”][bullet ad=”woodford-winning”]3–Harlands Thunder, 119, f, 2, Harlan's
Holiday–Stormandaprayer, by Songandaprayer. ($145,000
RNA 2yo '16 FTFMAR). O/B-Lakland Farm (KY); T-William I.
Mott. $15,000.[bullet ad=”sequel-bloodstock-grad”]Margins: 4 1/4, 1HF, HF. Odds: 4.40, 22.10, 5.40.
Also Ran: Made Me Shiver, Olive Branch, Summer Sally, Lightning Dove, Inspired Flight. Scratched: Platinum Spark. 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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