Cambria defeats males in Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint

The connections of the 2-year-old filly Cambria hoped she could win a big race in Europe early this summer. Instead, they had to settle for winning a big race over a European-style course late in the summer.

“Settle” might be too strong a word since Cambria, closing into a contested pace under Tyler Gaffalione, won the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint on Saturday, a race worth a cool $500,000.

Cambria beat Chimney Rock by a head, the latter a tough-luck loser after running into significant trouble early in this 6 1/2-furlong grass race.

Trainer Wesley Ward not only won the race for a second year in a row, but Cambria, like Moonlight Romance a year ago, is a filly who beat males.

Ward said Barbara Banke, principal of owner-breeder Stonestreet Stables, had hoped a filly like Cambria might be able to start in a 2-year-old stakes at Royal Ascot in late June. Cambria wasn’t up to it. “She’s kind of small,” Ward said.

Ward took a path of much less resistance, debuting Cambria at Presque Isle Downs in May, when she easily won a maiden race, and sending her back there July 30 to land a first-level allowance race. Both starts came over Presque Isle’s synthetic surface, and it was after an Aug. 30 dirt workout at Keeneland that Ward circled the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint and thought he had the horse to win it again.

Cambria, by Speightstown and the second foal to race out of the multiple-stakes-winning mare, Teen Pauline, raced in blinkers for the third time Saturday but Ward said he cut the cup of the blinker back to almost nothing since the filly has become more professional through the summer. Cambria wanted to run with the speed after breaking from post 4, and when Gaffalione reined her in after a furlong or so to stalk the pace, Cambria threw up her head and became unbalanced hitting an undulation in the course, briefly losing her stride. Perhaps the mishap helped get her in the right place as Gaffalione wound up fifth along the fence around the turn as Johnny Unleashed, pressed by Axiomo, tore around the bend at brisk tempo.

Gaffalione bided his time, tipping Cambria off the fence to come around the tiring pacesetters after turning into the long home-straight, but as Cambria collared the top two, Chimney Rock attacked. Checked hard in the race’s opening half-furlong, Chimney Rock rolled strongly into contention three-sixteenths of a mile out and looked like he had all the momentum, but Cambria, her rival at her flank, found more and turned him back.

“She has a really big heart,” Ward said.

Cambria, the first horse to win Saturday from off the pace, clocked 1:17.40 over a firm course and looked good doing it. It was the second week in a row Ward has won a six-figure 2-year-old turf-sprint stakes, having captured the $100,000 Colonial Rosie’s Stakes on Aug. 31 with first-time starter Four Wheel Drive. Ward is pointing him to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and said that’s also the spot for Cambria. She wasn’t ready for Royal Ascot in June but is on for Santa Anita in November.