Eyeinthesky all the way in Mizdirection Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Manny Franco came to the paddock to ride Eyeinthesky in Sunday’s $100,000 Mizdirection Stakes believing he would be sitting off the pace in the early stages of the six-furlong turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

His filly had other ideas.

After Eyeinthesky broke alertly, Franco let his filly go to the lead, and she never stopped, taking the Mizdirection in gate-to-wire fashion by three-quarters of a length over Fashion Faux Pas.

It was 1 1/4 lengths farther back to Mae Never No in third. She was followed by Golconda, Fangirl, Queen of Bermuda, the even-money favorite, and Ujaayi. Chelsea Cloisters and Moonlight Romance were scratched.

The win was the fourth on the day for Franco, who moved into a tie atop the Aqueduct spring-meet jockey standings with Jose Lezcano with 13 wins. There are four days left in the meet.

Franco thought Mae Never No and/or Fashion Faux Pas would be on the lead and he would have Eyeinthesky, who broke from post 6 in the seven-horse field, just off them.

“The way she broke, I just took advantage,” Franco said. “She broke on top, I let her go on and take the lead. She was so comfortable in front, I feel I have a lot of horse underneath me.”

Eyeinthesky got away with splits of 23.14 seconds for the quarter and 46.02 for the half-mile while maintaining a one-length lead over Fashion Faux Pas.

In the lane, as the field emerged from fog that had rolled in prior to the race, Fashion Faux Pas had seemed poised to challenge, but Eyeinthesky held that one at bay to the wire.

Eyeinthesky, a daughter of Sky Mesa owned by Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, covered the six furlongs in 1:09.97 over a “good” turf course and returned $18 to win.

Eyeinthesky was running just two weeks after she finished second in the Sophomore Fillies Stakes on dirt at Tampa Bay Downs on March 31.

“We thought she was going to win that race at the head of the stretch,” said Jamie Begg, assistant to Casse. “She goes over the dirt well, but when she tires, she climbs a lot, so that’s when Mark said we’ll go back to sprinting on the grass.”

Eyeinthesky is now 3 for 10 in her career, with two wins in turf sprints.