By Steve Sherack
ELMONT, NY – 'TDN Rising Star' Rushing Fall (More Than Ready), just a neck shy of being undefeated, collected her fourth Grade I trophy in style with a runaway, front-running tally in the GI Longines Just a Game S. at Belmont Park Saturday.
Beau Recall (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) finished like a rocket from far back to complete the exacta, 2 1/4 lengths adrift the winner. It was another head back to Daddy Is a Legend (Scat Daddy) in third.
The e Five Racing colorbearer, favored at 3-5, broke on top and it was pretty much all over from there. She coasted on the lead through fractions of :23.91 and :47.21 and was confronted by Daddy Is a Legend at the top of the stretch. Rushing Fall had plenty left in the tank, however, and rebroke in the lane beneath Javier Castellano to win for fun.
“Brilliant performance, probably her best to date,” winning trainer Chad Brown said. “She's nearly unbeaten. One of the greatest turf mares I've trained, for sure. She's earned that. When Daddy Is a Legend tackled her on the turn, I was concerned there for a moment because I knew it would be a real battle. I have a lot of respect for that horse. Thankfully, Rushing Fall showed her best stuff today and was able to fend her off and kick clear. I don't use the word brilliant too often, but it was a real brilliant performance.”
As for what's next, Brown added, “I want to speak to [owner] Bob Edwards, but I feel the logical thing to do is get her back to 1 1/8 miles in the [GI] Diana [S. at Saratoga July 13].”
An impressive come-from-behind heroine of the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar, Rushing Fall suffered her first career defeat when an unlucky second in Churchill's GIII Edgewood S. during her sophomore season. She has been perfect in four attempts since, rattling off wins in the GII Lake Placid S. at Saratoga Aug. 18, GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland Oct. 13 and the GI Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. in her 4-year-old lid lifter in Lexington last out Apr. 13.
Saturday, Belmont Park
LONGINES JUST A GAME S.-GI, $671,000, Belmont, 6-8, 4yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:31.67, fm.
1–RUSHING FALL, 123, f, 4, by More Than Ready
1st Dam: Autumnal, by Forestry
2nd Dam: Marie J, by Mr. Prospector
3rd Dam: In My Cap, by Vice Regent
'TDN Rising Star' ($320,000 Ylg '16 FTSAUG). O-e Five Racing
Thoroughbreds; B-Fred W. Hertrich III & John D. Fielding (KY);
T-Chad C. Brown; J-Javier Castellano. $375,000. Lifetime
Record: 9-8-1-0, $1,893,000. *1/2 to Milam (Street Sense),
SW & MGSP, $239,651. Werk Nick Rating: C+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Beau Recall (Ire), 121, m, 5, by Sir Prancealot (Ire)
1st Dam: Greta d'Argent (Ire), by Great Commotion
2nd Dam: Petite-D-Argent (GB), by Noalto (GB)
3rd Dam: Honey to Spare, by Track Spare (Ire)
(€17,000 Ylg '15 TISEP; $385,000 RNA 5yo '19 KEEJAN). O-Slam
Dunk Racing & Medallion Racing; B-Tom Wallace (IRE); T-Brad
H. Cox. $130,000.
3–Daddy Is a Legend, 115, f, 4, by Scat Daddy
1st Dam: Randie's Legend, by Benchmark
2nd Dam: Eternal Legend, by Gold Legend
3rd Dam: Eternal Search, by Northern Answer
'TDN Rising Star' ($140,000 Wlg '15 KEENOV; $160,000 Ylg '16
KEESEP). O-Jim & Susan Hill; B-HnR Nothhaft Horseracing LLC
(PA); T-George Weaver. $70,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, HD, HF. Odds: 0.70, 4.10, 4.30.
Also Ran: Bellavais, Environs (GB), Capla Temptress (Ire). Scratched: Got Stormy. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Pedigree Notes:
Rushing Fall, already one of 24 Grade I winners for leading sire More Than Ready, was picked up by bloodstock agent and e Five Racing advisor Mike Ryan for $320,000 as a FTSAUG yearling. A half-sister to the good SW & MGSP distaff dirt sprinter Milam (Street Sense), Rushing Fall is a maternal granddaughter of GSP Marie J, the dam of GSP Sisti's Pride (Forestry). Rushing Fall's MSW third dam produced SP Bright Feather (Fappiano), whose son Albert the Great (Go For Gin) won the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. Autumnal is the dam of the unraced 3-year-old filly Queen Eli (Candy Ride {Arg}) but has not produced a live foal since. Autumnal, a $550,000 KEESEP yearling and maiden of three career starts, fetched $260,000 while in foal to Vindication, at the 2007 KEENOV Sale.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
