Astrollinthepark has perfect trip in Roxelana victory
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Astrollinthepark broke sharpest of all en route to a perfect-trip victory Saturday in the $75,000 Roxelana at Churchill Downs.
Maintaining a key tactical advantage while closely attending a fast pace outside of Mythical Tale and Vertical Oak down the backstretch, Astrollinthepark went on to a two-length triumph over Miss Kentucky when completing six furlongs in 1:09.98 over a fast track. She paid $9.80 as third choice in a field of seven fillies and mares.
Florent Geroux was aboard Astrollinthepark for the Dreamchaser Thorobreds of David Gamble and trainer Larry Jones. It was the second stakes victory from 13 career starts for the 4-year-old homebred daughter of Divine Park, following an ungraded win in April 2017 at Mahoning Valley.
Remarkably, the win was the first in a Churchill stakes that was not the Kentucky Oaks for Jones, a native Kentuckian whose three prior stakes wins here came in the Grade 1 Oaks with Proud Spell (2008), Believe You Can (2012), and Lovely Maria (2015).
The $2 exacta (6-7) paid $28.60, the $1 trifecta (6-7-3) returned $32.20, and the 10-cent superfecta (6-7-3-5) was worth $25.36.
