Fancy Dress Party stays perfect with gritty Beaumont Stakes score

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fancy Dress Party stayed unbeaten in four starts when holding off Mother Mother in a long stretch duel Sunday in the 34th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Beaumont Stakes at a soggy Keeneland Race Course.

Ridden by Luis Saez, Fancy Dress Party led from the very first step in becoming a graded stakes winner. The daughter of Munnings returned $7.40 as the third choice after finishing the Beard Course distance of seven furlongs and 184 feet in 1:28.18 over a sloppy track.

The victory was an emotional one for the connections of the dark bay filly with the bald white face. She is owned by the Roth family (Larry, Nanci, Jaime), who left straight from the winner’s circle for an awaiting flight. Trainer Ben Colebrook left a postrace television interview with tears welling in his eyes when discussing what might be next for the filly.

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“I love her,” he said.

The Beaumont was worth 17 qualifying points (10-4-2-1) toward the May 3 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, but they’ll all go unused. Colebrook said he would consider the Grade 2 Eight Belles, a seven-furlong race on the Oaks undercard, “but I don’t really know whether I’ll want to run her back that quick. Obviously, she laid it all on the line today.”

Fancy Dress Party began her career here last fall, winning a maiden race, then an allowance the following month at Churchill. Her lone interim start resulted in a 5 3/4-length romp under Saez in the restricted Glitter Woman in early January at Gulfstream Park.

The nasty weather played a part in an original lineup of eight 3-year-old fillies being reduced to five as Shanghai Rose, Queen of Beas, and Power Gal were scratched.

Fancy Dress Party held an open lead approaching the quarter pole, but then Mother Mother drew closer along the rail and Feedback loomed menacingly from the outside. Down the stretch, those three raced almost in tandem, with Fancy Dress Party never letting either one past. Mother Mother, the 2-1 second choice, was second by a head, while Feedback, the 9-10 favorite, suffered her first defeat in three career starts when fading to be another 1 1/4 lengths back in third. Another Time and Iva rounded out the order of finish.

The $2 exacta (5-2) paid $21.60 and the $1 trifecta (5-2-8) returned $21.50.