Divine Miss Grey scores repeat win in Heavenly Prize Invitational

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – She hadn’t raced in more than three months, was carrying the top weight and was facing a pretty talented field.

None of that mattered to Divine Miss Grey, who showed no signs of rust in her return to the races Sunday at Aqueduct, recording a front-running, three-length victory in the $150,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational over a sloppy track.

It was the second consecutive year that Divine Miss Grey won the Heavenly Prize, taking it last year by 6 3/4 lengths.

Manny Franco rode Divine Miss Grey on Sunday, and she was one of five winners he rode from eight mounts on the card. The five-win day came exactly one year after his only other five-win day, last March 10, which also was the second Sunday of March.

Franco now has 81 wins at the winter meet, 18 more than Junior Alvarado in second.

The scratch of the speedy Sower from the Heavenly Prize had Franco thinking that he should put his filly on the lead if he could get it without having to go too fast.

Divine Miss Grey, the 124-pound highweight, broke alertly and did make the lead through a comfortable early quarter in 23.81 seconds, with Road to Victory just off her flank.

Divine Miss Grey opened up a one-length margin after a half-mile in 47.52 seconds. Approaching the top of the stretch, after Road to Victory retreated, Split Time, a filly who was undefeated over wet tracks and at the one-mile distance, came to Divine Miss Grey.

But Franco got into his filly, and she edged away in the final furlong.

“I was a little bit concerned she was going to get tired a little bit,” Franco said. “I know she fights. She always gives me all she has, and she proved the same thing again.”

Split Time finished second, 6 1/4 lengths clear of Forever Liesl. Midnight Disguise, Road to Victory, and Sara Street, who stumbled out of the gate, completed the order of finish.

Divine Miss Grey, a 5-year-old daughter of Divine Park, covered the mile in 1:37.32 over a sealed, sloppy track and returned $4.30.

Divine Miss Grey, owned by Corms Racing and Randy Hill and trained by Danny Gargan, improved her record to 12 wins – including six stakes – from 24 starts, and she has now earned $929,372.

“This is a horse that you’ve got to have so much respect for,” said Hill, who bought a half-interest in Divine Miss Grey early last year. “She has so much heart, she runs every time. When [Sower] scratched, that made me happy. I thought we needed the lead. When we go the lead and went 23 and 47, I was feeling pretty good.”

Divine Miss Grey will likely be pointed to the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap here on April 5.

Franco’s other winners Sunday were Sweet August Lady ($3.10 in race 2), Direct Order ($3.40 in race 3), Jump for Joy ($10.40 in race 5), and Raging Fire ($9.40 in race 9).