Golden Gate Fields: Head bob goes in Lady of Fifty's favor in Debutante

The favored Lady of Fifty had her nose down at the wire, providing the margin of victory over Power of Nine, whose nose just started to bob up at the wire, in the $53,260 Golden Gate Debutante at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday.

Lady of Fifty ($5.40), under Kevin Krigger, broke well and established a lead going down the backstretch in the six-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies. Power of Nine, the only stakes winner in the field of six, moved alongside her at the quarter pole, and the two dueled to the wire.

Krigger kept Lady of Fifty, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, going through the stretch despite Power of Nine’s pressure from just outside her. Power of Nine seemed to falter inside the sixteenth pole but made a last desperate bid that might have been successful had the finish line come up one foot sooner.

“She ran the race Jerry wanted her to run,” said Krigger. “I just rode her to win. I never gave up on her. I just rode her with confidence every step of the way.”

The winning time was 1:10.28. Eva’s Joy was third, four lengths farther back.

A $40,000 Keeneland purchase by George Todaro and Hollendorfer, Lady of Fifty scored her second victory in three career starts. A daughter of After Market, Lady of Fifty earned $30,350 to increase her career earnings to $49,170.