Coy Cat over stablemate at Turfway

Coy Cat surged to the lead with an outside rush and edged away down the stretch to defeat her Paul McGee-trained stablemate, School Girl, in the $50,000 Holiday Inaugural, the highlight of a nine-race card that kicked off the holiday meet Sunday at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

With Larry Sterling Jr. riding for the Jay Em Ess Stable, Coy Cat paid $30.60 after finishing six furlongs in 1:10.44 over Polytrack. School Girl, a 20-1 shot under Jon Court, was three-quarters of a length behind the winner and another half-length before She's Extreme.

Just Memories led early, pressed by Simply Seattle and Candy Cane, but they were overhauled leaving the quarter pole by the top three, who were in control from there.

Coy Cat, a 4-year-old filly by Hold That Tiger, was winning for the fifth time in 22 career starts. The $75,000 Bienville on the Louisiana Derby undercard in March at Fair Grounds was her richest triumph and lone prior stakes win.

The competitive nature of the 12-horse field was illustrated by the fact that the favorite, Proud Heiress, was 3-1. She ran seventh.

The all-McGee exacta (9-10) returned $511.80 for $2.