Army Wife turns back Crazy Beautiful in Lady Jacqueline Stakes
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Army Wife turned back fellow multiple graded stakes winner Crazy Beautiful in the stretch to win the $250,000 Lady Jacqueline Stakes, which highlighted Saturday's Ohio Derby undercard at Thistledown.
Army Wife ($4.40), who was sent away favored under Tyler Gaffalione, was one of several horses bounced around at the start as Jlo Can Dance bore in badly at the start, causing a chain reaction. The eventual winner quickly recovered and settled into a stalking spot in second as Maliced, away from the outside post in the starting field of eight, crossed over before the first turn to lead the field through moderate early splits of 24.07 seconds for the opening quarter and 48.28 seconds for the half on the fast main track.
Army Wife began to easily move up on the leader around the far turn and poked her neck in front coming into the stretch. Meanwhile Crazy Beautiful, who was also forced inward at the start, had worked her way into third entering the far turn under Brian Hernandez Jr. She had dead aim on Army Wife while running three wide coming into the stretch as Maliced retreated along the inside. It was those two fillies throwing down through the stretch, with Army Wife prevailing by three-quarters of a length at the finish.
The trip under the wire marked the third career stakes victory for Army Wife, who won last year's Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan and Grade 3 Iowa Oaks for trainer Mike Maker, and also finished third in two Grade 1 races. The Declaration of War filly was third in the Shawnee Stakes three weeks ago at Churchill Downs to open this season.
The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:50.80, with Army Wife getting an 88 Beyer Speed Figure.
Runner-up Crazy Beautiful, who won the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, Grade 2 Summertime Oaks, and Grade 3 Delaware Oaks last year for Ken McPeek, was rerouted to the Lady Jacqueline as a prep for summer action after a mild bout of colic caused her to miss the Shawnee. The filly was 5 1/4 lengths clear of She's Pure Silver in third.
After the top three, it was just half a length to Microcap in fourth, followed, in order, by the fading Maliced, Take Charge Lorin, and Grade 1 winner Maracuja. The latter was never involved, and was eased to the wire and vanned off. The streaking Ohio-bred champion filly Candlelight Hours, along with fellow Ohio-bred Market Success, were early scratches.
Earlier on the card, Tantrum and Mobil Solution won a pair of undercard stakes showcasing Ohio's breeding programs.
Tantrum decisively scored his third career stakes win in the $75,000 Daniel Stearns Cleveland Gold Cup for Ohio-bred 3-year-olds.
Tantrum ($3.60), who sat comfortably behind horses down the backstretch under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., made a sweeping move into and around the far turn to take command from Mr Loooch, who had set moderate early fractions up front. Although Tantrum was wandering toward the outside, once straightened away by Ortiz, he jumped to task in the final stages and was long gone to win by 7 1/2 lengths. He stopped the clock in 1:51.20 for the 1 1/8 miles.
Sammy's Smile, who had been tracking the pace, came on for second by three-quarters over Mr Loooch.
Tantrum was bred and is owned by the Winblaze LLC partnership of trainer Tim Hamm's Ohio-based Blazing Meadows Farm with Kentucky-based WinStar Farm. The son of former WinStar stallion Speightster won the Best of Ohio Juvenile on the state's fall showcase program and, earlier this year, won the Daryl E. Parker Memorial Tall Stack Stakes.
In what has become an annual stop on his calendar, Mobil Solution got a stellar trip through on the inside turning for home to take the lead, then held on by a neck over Relish the Ride to win the $75,000 George Lewis Memorial Stakes for Ohio-accredited older runners.
This was the fifth straight appearance in the George Lewis for Mobil Solution, a 7-year-old gelded son of Ohio sire Mobil. He finished second in the 2018 edition as a 3-year-old, and second again in 2019. He won the race by 2 1/2 lengths in 2020, and then was second again in 2021. Saturday's victory in the 2022 edition was his 10th career stakes win overall.
Mobil Solution ($17.20), who had Jeffrey Sanchez in the irons for trainer Jeffrey Skerrett, finished the 1 1/16 miles in 1:47.28. Behind the close-up Relish the Ride in second, it was 1 3/4 lengths back to Big Truck in third.