Go On Mary springs upset in Daisycutter

DEL MAR, Calif. – Sprinting five furlongs on turf has proven to be profitable for Go On Mary this summer at Del Mar.

After a tough-luck second in her first start here the second day of the meet, Go On Mary was wheeled back 15 days later, stepped up in class, and scored a 10-1 surprise in the $81,330 Daisycutter Handicap for female turf sprinters on Friday.

Go On Mary ($22.20) broke flawlessly under Rafael Bejarano, crossed over and got to the rail, was shadowed by 8-5 favorite Okinawa entering the far turn, and staved off Okinawa in the stretch to prevail by a half-length in a snappy 55.94 seconds on the firm course.

Mongolian Shopper was 2 1/4 lengths farther back in third, then came, in order, Symposium, Desert Steel, Phantom Proton, Out of The Flames, Spellker, and Berryessa.

“She was eligible right back to the second-condition allowance, but she ran well over the course and we thought we’d get a little ambitious,” said Doug O’Neill, who trains Go On Mary for Jack McShane’s McShane Racing LLC. “She carries a lot of flesh. She looked great in the paddock and she ran great.”

Go On Mary was given a five-month break earlier this year after running fourth in a $50,000 claiming race at Santa Anita in January. O’Neill credited McShane with having the patience to give Go On Mary time off when “she started going the wrong way.”

Since returning, Go On Mary has raced three times, all in turf sprints. She won a first-level allowance on the downhill course at Santa Anita on June 14 before a runner-up effort here on July 19.

The win was the fourth in 19 starts for Go On Mary, a 4-year-old daughter of Broken Vow. The $47,700 she earned on Friday brought her career total to just shy of $200,000.