Emery makes statement with victory in Raven Run Stakes
?q=100)
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Emery continued to tout herself as a promising candidate in the female sprint division, coasting to a two-length win in the Grade 2, $350,000 Raven Run Stakes for 3-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs, the co-feature on Saturday's card at Keeneland.
Over the past 20-plus years, the Raven Run has been a key race in the development of star fillies and mares. In the season after her Raven Run victory, Informed Decision (2008) went on to win multiple Grade 1 races, including the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, to secure a divisional Eclipse Award.
Shamrock Rose (2018) went straight from the Raven Run to the Breeders' Cup to earn a championship. Raven Run winners Sightseek (2002), Hilda's Passion (2010), Taris (2014), and Bell's the One (2019) all went on to become Grade 1 winners in future seasons. Last year, Vahva won the Raven Run; she is a Grade 1 winner and leading candidate for the Filly and Mare Sprint this season.
This year's Raven Run could provide direct clues to the form of the Filly and Mare Sprint favorite, as well. Emery won her first three starts of this year, including the Leslie's Lady at Churchill Downs and the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Aqueduct. She then finished a creditable second to Ways and Means in the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga. Ways and Means is the 3-1 early favorite on Daily Racing Form’s line for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
Regardless of the past or future, Saturday was all about Emery. The filly sat a beautiful trip in the clear in third on the backstretch under Tyler Gaffalione, and was rolling into the stretch. She forged her way past Fibber in midstretch, then easily held off My Mane Squeeze, a multiple graded stakes winner, in the lane.
“She traveled like a winner throughout,” Gaffalione said. “I just had to guide her around there.”
Emery ($4.50) finished the seven furlongs in 1:23.21.
My Mane Squeeze was easily second, 2 1/2 lengths clear of Fibber.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.