Complexity Jane leads all the way to take Weber City Miss

Complexity Jane, a 3-year-old filly trained by Brittany Russell, led every step of the way in the $150,000 Weber City Miss Stakes at Laurel Park Saturday, holding on at the wire to win by three-quarters of a length. Her stablemate, second-time starter Reply, closed from last to finish as runner-up, completing a one-two stakes finish for Russell.

“She was revved up and ready,” Russell said of the gate-to-wire winner. “[Owner Michael Golden] and I spoke about how she doesn’t have to go. I just said to [jockey Jevian Toledo] in the paddock, ‘Don’t take anything away from her. Use it. If you have to, use it.’”

Though Complexity Jane was entering the Weber City Miss off a stylish maiden victory and first money finish in an allowance, bettors strongly preferred her stablemate and other more proven runners. She didn’t look like a distant fourth choice after completing a half-mile in 48.88 seconds and taking an easy two-length lead on the field.

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Jockey Jevian Toledo coaxed the filly through reasonable fractions around the track and had just enough left at the end to hold off Reply and Moon Cache, a disqualified winner in stakes company last time out. She finished the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:47.12 and paid $18.20 to win.

After Complexity Jane’s first two starts, Russell said that she was considering cutbacks in distance for her going forward, but those plans may change now that she has proven herself in a route against stakes company. The Weber City Miss is a qualifier for the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico next month, but Russell isn’t committed to that race at 1 1/8 miles yet.

“We won’t just go to go,” Russell said. “We’ll just have to see how she’s training and go from there.”

Reply, another filly trained by Russell, was one of the runners chasing down Complexity Jane at the end, delivering a solid performance in her second career start. Russell suspected that she would prefer two turns, and though she couldn’t catch her stablemate, she still showed plenty of potential coming off a maiden victory at Colonial Downs.

Moon Cache, who was disqualified from a win in the Beyond the Wire at 17-1 odds last time out, ran well again to finish third for trainer Michael Gorham. The filly just missed behind Reply but finished 3 1/4 lengths clear of fourth in the field of seven. Safe Trust, the 6-5 favorite, struggled to run back in less than a week and finished sixth.

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