A 5 1/2-length gate-to-wire maiden winner on debut at Aqueduct going six furlongs Sept. 27, Letmecounttheways had no trouble making the jump into stakes company Saturday, taking the Maid of the Mist Stakes in little more than a canter under Joel Rosario to become the sixth stakes winner for her freshman sire (by Uncle Mo).
Clearly comfortable on the lead and stretching out to the one-turn mile Saturday, the 2-5 favorite sought it out from the widest gate and assumed command right from the opening jumps with little pressure from any of the rest of this over-matched field. Alone and getting things all her own way through fractions of :23.53 and :46.75, Letmecounttheways was in cruise control around the far turn as Rosario sat motionless and the winning margin began to grow. A three-wide group of rivals turned in behind her but no one was making up any ground through the lane as the favorite came to the line eased down with Rosario giving a few looks behind him and never even drawing the stick. 14-1 shot Grazie led the rest of the field home in second with Victory Hall rounding out the minor awards.
“First time going long, that was impressive,” Rosario said. “She was galloping nice up there. They told me to play the break and see what she wanted to do. It looked like there were one or two others that had speed, but she's so fast, I just decided to go on with it and let her do her thing. It's nice to ride those kind.”
“We've been blessed to have Mike Maker and his team bring the horses to where they are today,” added Peter Proscia of Paradise Farms who added a second stakes win to the card. “Kudos to them–they're doing a great job. We're happy about the Yaupons that we have and the New York-bred program–we're very pleased and blessed.”
Leading freshman sire Yaupon will jump from $25,000 to $60,000 for the 2026 breeding season off a first crop that has netted 19 winners to date. First dam Draft is a half-sister to GSW Time's Mistress (Mr. Greeley) and to the dam of GSW Dennis' Moment (Tiznow). McRich Stable picked up her yearling Central Banker filly for $60,000 at SARAUG this year and she produced a Flameaway colt this season before visiting leading New York sire Bucchero for 2026.
MAID OF THE MIST S., $200,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-25, (S), 2yo, f, 1m, 1:35.94, ft.
1–LETMECOUNTTHEWAYS, 120, f, 2, by Yaupon
1st Dam: Draft, by Dialed In
2nd Dam: Doyenne, by Deputy Minister
3rd Dam: Seewillo, by Pleasant Colony
($115,000 Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $190,000 Ylg '24 SARAUG).
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Paradise Farms Corp., JP Racing
Stable, David Staudacher and Zilla Racing Stables; B-Jerry
Bilinski (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Joel Rosario. $110,000.
Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $154,000.
2–Grazie, 120, f, 2, Modernist–Ascot Walk, by Daaher. ($37,000
Ylg '24 EASOCT; $310,000 2yo '25 EASMAY). O-Repole Stable;
B-Michael Slezak & Kaylee M. Platt (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$40,000.
3–Victory Hall, 122, f, 2, Independence Hall–Into Victory,
by Into Mischief. ($30,000 Wlg '23 FTNMIX; $30,000 Ylg '24
KEESEP; $45,000 RNA 2yo '25 OBSAPR). 1ST BLACK TYPE.
O-Twin Sports Racing, Cypresshead Racing, LLC and Let's Go
Racing; B-Stonegate Stables LLC & Everything's Cricket Racing
(NY); T-John Alexander Ortiz. $24,000.
Margins: 6, 2 1/4, 1. Odds: 0.46, 14.80, 9.21.
Also Ran: Liberty's Advance, Rina's Revenge, Belloro, Mobelladream, Angel Gift. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
LETMECOUNTTHEWAYS is now 2-for-2 after she dominates the Maid of the Mist Stakes under @JRosarioJockey for trainer Mike Maker. pic.twitter.com/pap2kmjaTM
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) October 25, 2025
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