Clement scratches favorite; still gets Soaring Softly victory
?q=100)
ELMONT, N.Y. — Despite having to scratch the morning-line favorite from the race Saturday morning, trainer Christophe Clement still won the Grade 3, $169,750 Soaring Softly Stakes Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park.
Queen Picasso, who had just a debut win on her resume, pressed the pace-setting stakes-winner American Apple before taking over from that one inside the eighth pole and edging clear for a two-length victory in the Soaring Softly. It was a neck back to even-money favorite Lady Beth in third.
Quarrel and Senior Prank completed the order of finish.
Love Appeals, the 6-5 morning-line favorite, was scratched because Clement didn’t feel the filly was 100-percent following a Saturday morning training session.
Clement scratched Queen Picasso from the Memories of Silver Stakes on April 30 at Aqueduct when rain washed that one-mile race off the turf. Clement had the choice of either cutting Queen Picasso back to seven furlongs in the Soaring Softly or attempting to stretch her out to 1 1-8 miles in the Wonder Again on June 8.
“She showed so much speed in the morning I just thought let’s go for this,” Clement said.
Under Jose Ortiz, Queen Picasso took a position just off of American Apple, who last year upset the Grade 3 Matron at odds of 47-1.
Queen Picasso was within a half-length of American Apple, ridden by Eric Cancel through a quarter in 23.06 seconds and a half-mile in 45.83.
Queen Picasso crept up alongside approaching the head of the lane and had a tussle on her hands with a stubborn American Apple until inside the eighth pole when Queen Picasso gradually drew away.
Queen Picasso, a Great Britain-bred daughter of Kingman owned by Siena Farm, Michael Kisber, Peter Deutsch and Stuart Grant’s The Elkstone Group, covered the seven furlongs in 1:21.24 and returned $7.70 as the third choice in the five-horse field.
Ortiz said he let American Apple get away with an easy first quarter but after that he went up to put pressure on her.
“I knew [once] we set those easy fractions, it was going to be one of us,” Ortiz said. “I felt like [Queen Picasso] got a little tired. The ground was heavy yesterday, a little bit soft, I think it’s still a little bit heavy today but we ran from the half-mile [pole] to the wire.”
The Soaring Softly victory came about 25 minutes after Clement won the $102,000 Cliff Hanger Stakes at Monmouth Park with Big Everest.
Clement said he could point Queen Picasso to a race like the $150,000 Wild Applause for 3-year-old fillies going a mile on June 24 or wait for the Grade 3, $175,000 Lake George, also going a mile, at Saratoga on July 21.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.