By Alan Carasso
Calumet Farm homebred She Be Smooth (Lexitonian) raced well out of the range of the cameraman for the opening 5 1/2 furlongs of Saturday's GII Davona Dale Stakes, but she entered the picture in an instant and finished full of run to become the first graded winner for her sire (by Speightstown) while picking up 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.
Allowed to jump at juicy odds of 28-5 off an impressive debut over the Davona Dale course and distance Jan. 23 that came at the expense of next-out 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Prom Queen (Quality Road), She Be Smooth fell out of the gate and was not rushed into action by Flavien Prat, anchoring herself at the back of the pack as Omaha Bay (Omaha Beach) set the pace a couple of paths off the inside running rail while chased by Imperatrice (City of Light), runner-up to odds-on On Time Girl (Not This Time) in the GIII Forward Gal Stakes.
Still minding her own business and waiting for her cue as Omaha Bay was joined to her inside by My Miss Mo (Uncle Mo), She Be Smooth made stealthy headway hard against the fence, pushed away from the inside and into the three-wide line under a full head of steam approaching the entrance to the stretch and rolled home a convincing winner. On Time Girl was a non-threatening third.
“She's been very impressive in both of her starts here,” winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. “She seems to be steadily improving. I think the more distance the better for her. We thought we might get a good pace setup.
“I told Flavien to be patient with her, that she'd deliver a good late run. He gave her a beautiful ride. He was able to save ground around the turn and then angle out at the top of the stretch and she finished really nicely.”
Pedigree Notes:
The fourth overall stakes winner for GI A. G. Vanderbilt Handicap winner Lexitonian, She Be Smooth is the 147th stakes winner produced by a daughter of the outstanding broodmare sire Quiet American.
Winner of the 2009 GI Ogden Phipps Handicap for Mercedes Stables and Tony Dutrow, Seattle Smooth was knocked down to Brad Kelley's operation for $300,000 in foal to Calumet Farm at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale and her three Calumet-bred winners in addition to She Be Smooth included 2020 GIII Remington Park Oaks third Seattle Slang (Tapit).
She Be Smooth is the last-listed produce for Seattle Smooth.
SHE BE SMOOTH ($13.60) and she has 50 points to the Kentucky Oaks after winning the $225,000 Davona Dale Stakes (G2) impressively under Flavien Prat. @PletcherRacing trains the 3YO daughter of Lexitonian (@CalumetFarm).
Wager on the 12th: https://t.co/mnxsqMIadp pic.twitter.com/vO4GVldOr3
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) February 28, 2026
Saturday, Gulfstream Park
DAVONA DALE S. PRESENTED BY INGLIS DIGITAL USA-GII, $205,000, Gulfstream, 2-28, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:37.78, ft.
1–SHE BE SMOOTH, 119, f, 3, by Lexitonian
1st Dam: Seattle Smooth (GISW, $1,001,160), by Quiet American
2nd Dam: Our Seattle Star, by Seattle Song
3rd Dam: Starsburg, by Whitesburg
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Calumet Farm; B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Flavien Prat. $121,520. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $162,320. Werk Nick Rating: D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–My Miss Mo, 119, f, 3, Uncle Mo–In a Dream, by Quality Road. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($320,000 2yo '25 OBSMAR). O-Averill Racing, LLC, Mathis Stable, LLC and De Meric, Tristan; B-Valerie Mastromonaco, Tristan de Meric & Uncle Mo Syndicate (FL); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.. $44,200.
3–On Time Girl, 121, f, 3, Not This Time–Girl Daddy, by Uncle Mo. ($375,000 RNA Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Albaugh Family Stables, LLC; B-Albaugh Family Stables LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $19,600.
Margins: 6, HF, 3. Odds: 5.80, 26.90, 0.80.
Also Ran: Omaha Bay, Haute Diva, Swing Vote, Imperatrice. Scratched: Blazing Brat, Paradise.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
