Got Stormy flies home to nail Into Mystic in Franklin County Stakes
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – It took the entire length of the stretch, but Got Stormy was up in the final jump to prevail as the odds-on favorite Friday in the 24th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Franklin County at Keeneland.
With only 100 yards to go in the 5 1/2-furlong turf race, Got Stormy still had plenty of ground to make up – which she did, barely. Her nose was first on the wire, just ahead of Into Mystic, when stopping the timer in 1:02.33 over a course rated good.
Got Stormy returned $3.80 as the heavy favorite in a field of 10 filly-mare sprinters. She was using the Franklin County for yet another run against male rivals in the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over this same turf course. Trained by Mark Casse for Gary Barber, the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred mare now has won 10 of 25 starts and $1,991,378.
On a fair and hazy afternoon, and with the stands once again largely empty because of a no-spectator policy owing to the ongoing pandemic, Jakarta put away a couple of longshot chasers when striding to a clear lead after turning for home, but then Into Mystic reeled her in leaving the furlong grounds to loom the potential winner under Joe Talamo.
Meanwhile, Got Stormy, ahead of just one rival approaching the quarter pole, was angled out by Gaffalione for the drive, and it took every bit of her speed to win by a nose.
“I figured just let her settle,” said Gaffalione. “I figured she should be much the best here, so we’ll just come with her run. Man, she really finished up nice.”
“What an amazing kick,” said Casse assistant David Carroll.
Jakarta was third, a length behind the top two and another length ahead of Change of Control in fourth.
Got Stormy has raced against males with regularity, including a victory in the Grade 1 Fourstardave and runner-up finishes in the Woodbine Mile and Breeders’ Cup Mile, all last year at 4.
But those races were longer than the sprints in which Casse has fashioned a campaign to conclude 2020, reasoning that she is probably not capable of defeating top-class company in the BC Mile.
“She’s plenty fast, and we’re trying to max out her potential by shortening her up,” Casse said earlier this week. The trainer watched the Franklin County from his Ocala, Fla., home.
The $2 exacta (10-2) paid $18.80, the $1 trifecta (10-2-5) returned $43.20, and the 10-cent superfecta (10-2-5-8) was worth $30.57.
One race earlier, Strike That ($14.40) narrowly bested Hog Creek Hustle in a $65,640 allowance that drew a handful of stakes winners, finishing seven furlongs in 1:22.64 over a fast main track. It was the third win on the 10-race card for the owner-trainer jockey team of M and M Racing, Robertino Diodoro, and David Cohen.