Happy Soul rolls to her second consecutive big-margin score in the Astoria
ELMONT, N.Y. - With respect to Rudyard Kipling, if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you can win the Astoria Stakes.
While her opponents were all acting up to varying degrees in the starting gate pre-race, Happy Soul was docile, which made her jockey, John Velazquez, a little nervous.
But when the starting gates opened, Velazquez asked Happy Soul to go, and she responded by making the lead while running an opening quarter in 21.92 seconds. With no one really good enough to challenge her, Happy Soul bounded along her merry way and galloped to an 11 1/2-length victory in the $150,000 Astoria for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont Park.
Constitution Gal, one of three maidens in the five-horse field, finished second by 1 1/4 lengths over fellow maiden She’s So Shiny. American Bound finished fourth followed by Midsummer Nights. Mainstay scratched as trainer Butch Reid opted not to ship over fears of a wet track.
Happy Soul, a daughter of Runhappy owned by Gayla Rankin, was sent off at 1-9 based on her 11 3/4-length maiden score here on May 13. The only other winner in the field was American Bound, a debut winner at Keeneland in April who was fifth when facing boys in the Kentucky Juvenile.
Luis Saez, on American Bound had to dismount at the gate and two of his colleagues also got off their horses pre-race.
“Everybody was being bad, she fell asleep in there,” Velazquez said. “I had to use her to come out of there, which I normally don’t want to do with [trainer Wesley Ward’s] horses because they go too fast, but I had to do it. Once I got her out of there, I got the position that she wants actually, obviously she got to the lead.”
Happy Soul ran a half-mile in 45.74 seconds, and covered the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05.69 over a fast track. She returned $2.30 to win.
Ward, who watched the race via simulcast, said he was hesitant to even enter Happy Soul in the Astoria.
“I just don’t like to run back quick,” Ward said. “It’s a policy of mine, they seem to get beat. Other trainers can do it, I can’t, my whole career.”
Ward said when he saw the makeup of the field, he was agreeable to running. Ward is now 11 for 25 at the Belmont spring/summer meet; Velazquez has ridden nine of those winners.
With three races under her belt, Happy Soul will get a bit of a break and point to the Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack at Saratoga on Aug. 8, Ward said.