Gata Brazil just gets up to win Stormy Blues Stakes
?q=100)
Gata Brazil, a 3-year-old filly trained by Brittany Russell, needed every inch of a long stretch at Laurel Park to win the $100,000 Stormy Blues Stakes on Sunday. Flying home from seventh under Jevian Toledo, she didn’t catch favored pacesetter Roja until the final strides, winning by a nose.
“Honestly, until I heard [track announcer] Dave Rodman say her name, I didn’t really know where she was,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “The idea was for Toledo to take her back and make a run, because we didn’t think sitting in front like last time was the way to do it. It was a good run, she ran hard at them and she got the job done.”
Gata Brazil, a $28.20 winner, was one of two outsiders entered by Brittany Russell, along with Biscuitwiththeboss, who finished third at 8-1. By the end of the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint, only two horses were seriously contending for a victory and Roja, the 6-5 favorite trained by Graham Motion, was clamoring for the wire.
Breaking fastest in the field of nine, Roja and Victor Carrasco never trailed in the early going but were never alone either, pressured along through a blazing half-mile in 44.04 seconds. As soon as she was asked for more on the far turn, however, the last-out maiden winner left her speedy rivals behind and took a three-length lead at the top of the stretch.
While Roja was kicking clear on the turn, Gata Brazil was making a determined run of her own, negotiating a ground-saving mid-pack trip and charging forward to pass her stablemate for second entering the stretch.
With plenty of work to do from there, Gata Brazil continued moving toward Roja, who showed no signs of slowing down but was nevertheless losing ground. Near the very end of a grueling stretch run, Toledo and Russell’s filly finally pulled alongside, and in a photo finish that nearly swung back to the favorite on the bob, they prevailed by a nose, finishing in 1:01.74.
Roja, far from disgraced in her first race against winners, finished six lengths ahead of Biscuitwiththeboss, who won her own photo for third.
In her three prior starts for Russell this year, Gata Brazil did not show much improvement on her juvenile form. She won a Laurel allowance by disqualification in April, but bettors were hesitant after she finished seventh in the $150,000 Take The A Train at Aqueduct last month. She is now unbeaten in three career starts at Laurel.
“She’s gotten good rides there and it’s worked out,” Russell said of the filly’s success at Laurel. “Sometimes, the trip makes the difference as well.”
Russell said she is considering sending Gata Brazil to Saratoga next month, possibly for the Grade 3 Coronation Cup on July 11, but the trainer said she will also monitor races at Colonial Downs and other tracks before determining Gata Brazil’s next start. She is also considering giving the filly more distance, though she will likely carry on at 5 1/2 furlongs for the time being.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.