Evvie Jets rallies for upset in Ballston Spa Stakes
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Evvie Jets has made a habit of pulling surprises in stakes races on this circuit. Typically, it’s when she’s been allowed to get away with easy fractions on the front end.
Thursday at Saratoga, Evvie Jets pulled off the biggest surprise of her career and did so in the most surprising manner.
After getting outfooted by two horses with early run on their mind, Evvie Jets sat patiently, well off the pace under Manny Franco, before rallying along the rail in the stretch and outfinishing Fluffy Socks to win the Grade 2, $300,000 Ballston Spa Stakes by a head. It was a half-length back to Jumbly in third in a race where the top seven finishers in the eight-horse field were separated by 1 1/2 lengths.
Gam’s Mission finished fourth, a neck in front of favorite Technical Analysis, who was head in front of her troubled-trip stablemate Consumer Spending. Surprisingly was seventh, followed by Sister Bridget. Speak of the Devil scratched.
The victory was the sixth from 15 starts since Mertkan Kantarmaci claimed the horse in October 2021 for $80,000 for owner Robert Amendola. Amendola passed away in November 2022, and the mare now runs for the Estate of Robert Amendola, overseen by his son Michael.
Michael Amendola got a bit emotional afterward when asked what this victory meant to him.
“Come on, do I got to tell you?” he said. “It’s unbelievable. It means a lot.”
Evvie Jets was ridden by Franco, who picked up the mount after Luis Saez was injured in a spill Wednesday at Saratoga. In fact, three horses with Saez named to ride won Thursday at Saratoga with different riders.
Franco said he was not given any instructions from Kantarmaci other than to stay on the rail.
Franco said he broke intending to gain a forward position, but did not persevere for the lead after watching Sister Bridget, under Katie Davis, and Technical Analysis, ridden by Jose Ortiz, gun their horses to the front. They ran an opening quarter in 23.50 seconds and a half-mile in 48.67, which looked to be even faster than that.
Franco was content to maintain his rail position, and he advanced steadily along the inside around the far turn. Turning for home, there was ample space along the rail for Franco to rally Evvie Jets on through, and she outlasted a four-wide rallying Fluffy Socks, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr, to get the victory.
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“They broke out of there running, sending hard, so I just save ground all the way around,” Franco said. “They came back big time, and I have the filly under me and she just responded to me every time I asked her.”
Evvie Jets, a 5-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy, improved her earnings for her new connections to $617,520. Overall, Evvie Jets has earned $698,680.
Kantarmaci said he was always confident in his mare’s ability to rate, pointing to a race here last summer she where she rallied from eight lengths back to finish second, beaten 1 1/2 lengths.
“Our plan was only stick to the rail and he did,” Kantarmaci said. “She just made a stretch run today after the hot pace. She can do that, she showed that a long time ago but [usually] she ends up and fights on a slower pace. Today was the day for her to close.”
Fluffy Socks, one of three runners trained by Chad Brown, finished second for the eighth time in 20 starts.
Under rainy conditions, which likely softened up what had been labeled a firm inner turf course earlier in the day, Evvie Jets covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.06 and returned $60.50.
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