Fifty Five gets perfect trip to win Mount Vernon Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown’s final comment when assessing Fifty Five’s chances in Monday’s $125,000 Mount Vernon Stakes at Belmont Park was “she’s going to have to work out a trip. If things work out in front of her, she should get up.”

It turned out to be a very prophetic statement, as Fifty Five, with jockey Javier Castellano working out a near-perfect trip, did get up in late stretch to register a popular one-length victory over Munchkin Money in the one-mile Mount Vernon on turf for New York-bred fillies and mares. It was a performance that helped wipe out the memory of Fifty Five’s frustrating neck setback as the even-money favorite in last year’s edition of the race.

Despite breaking from the rail, Castellano was able to ease Fifty Five out in the clear to rate her in midpack off the pace of Vip Nation during the early stages of the Mount Vernon. Fifty Five was able to find room to split horses when set down to launch her bid into the stretch and made a quick move to join the leaders at midstretch before readily edging clear at the end.

Munchkin Money also was nicely positioned while saving ground just off the leaders. She had to steady along a couple of times in traffic in early stretch before finishing with good energy once clear to best Kreesie by a neck for second.

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The win was the fourth in a row and ninth in 18 starts for Fifty Five, a 5-year-old daughter of Get Stormy, who is trained by Brown for owner Peter Brandt. She completed the distance in 1:34.09 over the firm course and paid $3.10.

“That was the trip I was looking for, it was beautiful,” said Castellano, who accepted the Mike Venezia Award during ceremonies held here earlier in the day. “I got lucky. A big field, 11 horses, breaking on the rail, sometimes you can get stuck in traffic. But at the same time, you don’t want to go too wide either. All the way, I covered up, and turning for home, I saw a chance to take my shot and split horses, and I loved the way she finished so powerfully from the quarter pole to the wire. When I asked her, she just took off. She was in the zone.”

Castellano said he thinks Fifty Five, who he’s ridden to four victories including three stakes wins over the past 19 months, just keeps getting better with age.

“I think this was as good as, if not better than, any of her previous races,” Castellano said. “The older she gets, I think the better she has gotten.”