B G Warrior takes early lead, holds on for Queen Stakes triumph

B G Warrior set a snappy pace, then held on by a head to win the $125,000 Queen Stakes for female sprinters on Saturday night at Turfway Park.

B G Warrior ($5.04), trained by Hugo Andrade for Keith Grass, is now officially 7-3-2-2 in stakes at Turfway over the past two seasons – including a race in 2022 in which she crossed the line first but was moved to second for interference. Her affinity for the local surface made her the favorite on Saturday night.

When the gates opened on the Queen, B G Warrior, with Albin Jimenez in the irons, caught a flyer and immediately scampered clear to a 2 1/2-length lead in 21.66 for the opening quarter on the Tapeta. She held that margin through the half in 44.29. At that point, Honey Pants, a graded stakes winner shipping in from California, and longshot Swall were fourth and fifth, respectively.

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B G Warrior still led by two lengths in upper stretch, but began to flag as Honey Pants and Swall launched bids in near-tandem with dead aim. B G Warrior dug in and was all-out in the final yards, holding on by a head at the wire with Honey Pants and Swall in a dead heat for second. It was 2 1/2 lengths back to the rest of the field.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:09.93.

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