Flattery remains unbeaten, takes Juvenile Fillies Turf

DEL MAR, Calif. — Flattery and Loterie were racing at the rear of the field approaching the turn of Saturday’s $101,500 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar when jockey Umberto Rispoli made the first move on Loterie.

That was fine with Juan Hernandez aboard Flattery. Before the race, he assessed the two would be near each other at a pivotal point in the one-mile stakes.

“He got the jump on me, so I followed him,” Hernandez said of Rispoli.

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On the turn, Hernandez moved Flattery four-wide, while Loterie was briefly stuck in traffic. The uninterrupted run led to a one-length win for Flattery in her stakes debut in the Juvenile Fillies Turf for 2-year-olds.

Loterie, the 9-5 favorite, closed with a rush on the inside through the final furlong to finish second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of 5-2 Angiolleta.

Flattery ($8.60) was the third choice in the betting and was timed in 1:36.86. Flattery earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 65.

“My filly was very professional,” Hernandez said. “She’s a 2-year-old and she did everything on her own. I saw the opportunity and she picked it up.”

Tambo finished fourth, followed by Cailin Dana, Auratium, Double Bay, and Bossy Bruin Gal.

Flattery remained unbeaten in two starts with Saturday’s stakes win. She won a maiden race at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 19 with Hernandez aboard. In that race, Flattery broke slowly and closed from last in the final furlong to win by three-quarters of a length.

Flattery had a cleaner start in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“She broke much better and put herself in the race,” Hernandez said.

By Flatter, Flattery races for Exline-Border Racing, Burns Racing, Aaron Kennedy and Richard Hausman and is trained by Phil D’Amato.

Purchased for $180,000 as a yearling at Keeneland last September, Flattery has earned $109,200.

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