Black-Eyed Susan: Rosario's daring mid-race move with Army Wife pays off
BALTIMORE – Joel Rosario cut every corner he could before Army Wife proved clearly best Friday in the 97th running of the Grade 2, $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan on Preakness eve at Pimlico.
After breaking from post 1 in a field of 10 3-year-old fillies, Army Wife and Rosario saved ground on both turns of the 1 1/8-mile race before drawing off to a 2 3/4-length triumph over late-running Willful Woman. She returned $11 as third choice after finishing in 1:49.63 over a fast track.
Mike Maker trains Army Wife, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Declaration of War, for the Three Diamonds Farm of Kirk Wycoff. The bay filly was coming off a third-place finish behind the eventual Kentucky Oaks runner-up, Search Results, in her stakes debut, the April 3 Gazelle at Aqueduct. She earned an 86 Beyer Speed Figure in the Black-Eyed Susan and now has won three of eight starts overall.
On a beautiful spring day, and with attendance well under the 10,000 capacity imposed because of the ongoing pandemic, Lady Traveler was sent by Javier Castellano to make an open lead as the field made their way through the first turn. As several pursuers gave futile chase, and while Rosario passed a handful of opponents down the backstretch and in the final turn while never leaving the rail, Lady Traveler passed the quarter pole in front, but Army Wife loomed an obvious danger as Rosario angled her out for a clear path.
The mid-race move was “a decision that I had to make because they were coming back a little bit in front of me and I had horse,” said Rosario. “I decided I needed to go because I had some room to go and just let her run her race like she always does.”
The decisive victory directly followed a wire-to-wire romp by the Maker-trained Last Judgment, owned by a four-way partnership, in the preceding race, the Grade 3 Pimlico Special. It was the first victory in either race for Maker, who counts the Wycoffs among his most loyal clients during his 18-year training career.
“It’s very special,” Maker said in a post-race television interview from the infield cupola. “They trust me and give me opportunities. . . . Kirk wasn’t here because he gets very emotional with these victories. They’re a very tight-knit family.”
The race was a clear disappointment for the two favorites, both of whom beat a steady fade down the stretch after failing to be serious factors following wide trips from their outside posts. Beautiful Gift, the 2-1 favorite for trainer Bob Baffert, was seventh, while Adventuring, the 3-1 second choice, was eighth.
The $2 exacta (1-2) paid $127.40, the $1 trifecta (1-2-5) returned $591.30, and the 10-cent superfecta (11-2-5-4) was worth $497.14.