Call the Bullpen lands first stakes win in Miss Gracie
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Call the Bullpen returned to Gulfstream Park and earned her first stakes victory in the $100,000 Miss Gracie on Saturday. Trainer Carlos David said he would rather enter a stakes for 3-year-olds than an allowance against older rivals, and his filly rewarded that decision.
“We decided to to bring her back, and even though she’s not a Florida-bred and we lose a little chunk of that purse, the black type is what’s important for the owner,” David said.
After shipping up to Kentucky in the spring and training there for two months, Call the Bullpen finished in the money in a pair of first-level allowances at Churchill Downs and Ellis Park. In the latter race on July 5, she was denied by a head after bumping in the stretch, a result David felt should have been changed by the stewards.
With allowance conditions for 3-year-olds drying up later in the year, David brought the filly back to Florida, where she earned two victories on turf over the winter. She went off as the 5-2 second choice in her stakes debut and paid $7 to win.
Laigina, the even-money favorite trained by Patrick Biancone, ran with an uncontested early lead in the Miss Gracie, completing the opening quarter-mile in 24.42 seconds and half-mile in 48.36. David said Call the Bullpen had the speed to make an early move, but he instructed jockey Samy Camacho to be patient and take advantage of the filly’s versatility.
“I talked to Samy before the race,” David said. “I'm in Kentucky, but I talked to him over the phone and I told him the main thing was to get a good break out of the gate. It looks like Biancone’s filly will be forwardly placed, so we're both the speed of the race. He just had to play it by ear.”
Instead of dueling, Camacho settled into third in the mile race, navigating in tight quarters on the first turn and quelling some of his filly’s eagerness on the backstretch.
The 25-1 longshot Bert’s Knoty Girl did not have much staying power in second and backed off on the far turn, and none of the four closers ever made up ground. The race was decided between the two favorites, and Laigina and jockey J.G. Torrealba turned for home with a one-length lead.
Call the Bullpen stayed just behind the early leader all the way around the far turn and tipped out just enough to draw alongside in the stretch, saving every inch of ground. Camacho was riding with obvious momentum, and though Laigina had something left, she could not deny the winner. Call the Bullpen prevailed by a half-length and completed the mile in 1:34.12.
Laigina, far and away the best of the rest, finished 6 1/4 lengths ahead of Bert’s Knoty Girl, who held on to take third for trainer Jeff Engler.
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