Evidencias pulls away to earn first U.S. win in Obeah Stakes

Evidencias rallied from off the pace to capture Wednesday’s $125,000 Obeah Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles at Delaware Park.

Trained by Christophe Clement for James Wigan and Denford Stud, Evidencias saved ground near the back under Jaime Rodriguez as Hot Fudge Warrior set fractions of 24.64 and 48.95 seconds while prompted by favored Saddle Up Jessie.

Saddle Up Jessie seemed to be traveling comfortably under jockey Sheldon Russell, and she poked a head in front after a six-furlong clocking of 1:15.60. The chalk couldn’t create immediate separation, however, and late-kicking Evidencias began her strong stretch bid once switched off the rail at the three-sixteenths pole.

Saddle Up Jessie had no finish, but Evidencias rolled while in between horses in tandem with Venti Valentine on her outside to score by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:46.82 over the fast track. She paid $13.20 to win as the fourth choice in the betting.

Runner-up Venti Valentine didn’t have an easy trip. Off slowly, she rushed up to track the pace from the third spot, seemed outpaced and beaten on the second turn, but rerallied gamely to finish two lengths ahead of Saddle Up Jessie.

Magical Lute, Ragtime Belle, Hot Fudge Warrior, Frosty O Toole, and Miles of Smiles completed the order of finish. Heleonortiz and Sweet Alyssa were scratched. Reclusive and Miss New York were withdrawn to instead start in Sunday’s $100,000 Twixt Stakes at Laurel Park.

:: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.

“She broke good,” Rodriguez said in a post-race interview broadcast by Delaware Park. “She got a clean trip the whole race. Once I got the opportunity to get out and into the clear at the top of the lane, she just broke.”

The Obeah was Rodriguez’s fourth winner on the program.

Bred in Brazil by Haras Old Friends LTDA, Evidencias was a Group 1 winner at nine furlongs on turf in her native land as well as a Group 2 winner on the main track.

Imported to the United States during the summer of 2023, the 5-year-old Drosselmeyer mare hit the board in seven of her first eight starts without winning. She finished third in Aqueduct’s Ladies Stakes on Jan. 6, and tuned up for the Obeah with a third-place finish in Laurel’s Caesar’s Wish at 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 4

Evidencias is a half-sister to Brazilian Group 3 winner Dancing Mambo. Their second dam, Fiji, earned an Eclipse Award as the outstanding turf female in 1998.

Evidencias has captured 5 of 16 starts for lifetime earnings of $180,220.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.