Diva's Diamond repeats pattern in Peach of It

STICKNEY, Ill. – Spring time at Hawthorne is Diva’s Diamond time.

Diva’s Diamond won an allowance race and the Peach of It Handicap here a year ago, and after losing six times in a row, she pulled the same allowance-Peach of It double again this season, winning Saturday’s edition of the Illinois-bred route race for fillies and mares by 1 1/4 lengths.

Diva’s Diamond, a 5-year-old Crafty Shaw mare bred and owned by the Asiel Stable and trained by Carlos Silva, has done most of her best work at Hawthorne, where she won for the sixth time in 15 starts in the $84,575 Peach of It. Breaking from post 1 under Rafael Hernandez, Diva’s Diamond clung to the fence most of the trip before moving out for running room past the quarter pole. She opened a clear lead on pace pressing Our Domain, was briefly threatened by that mare and Synderella at the eighth pole, but pulled away again late in a game performance.

“I saved ground both turns, waited for a hole, and she went through,” said Hernandez, the second-leading rider this meet. “When she opened up three lengths, she started waiting on those horses.”

Synderella, close early but eventually rallying from well off the pace, nipped favored Our Domain for the place. Diva’s Diamond was timed in 1:45.61 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track and paid $7.80. Behind Our Domain came The Best Option, pacesetting Goldway, and the well-supported Alette, who raced five wide on the first turn.