Harmonize rallies to win Jessamine Stakes
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Putting her versatility and superiority on full display, Harmonize passed most of the field in a short span in coming through as a decisive favorite Wednesday in the 25th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland.
Although she was on or near the lead in her first two starts, Harmonize rallied from 12th in a field of 14 2-year-old fillies to finish a neck ahead of Sapphire Kitten on Wednesday. She returned $4 after completing the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:44.19 over a firm turf course.
Junior Alvarado was aboard Harmonize for owner Larkin Armstrong and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. It was the third Jessamine victory for Mott, following Bail Out Becky (1994) and Stylelistick (2001).
“She wasn’t getting hold of the track the first part of the race,” said Alvarado. “At the end, she wanted it bad.”
“It was nice to see she’s versatile enough to come from the back like she did,” said Mott. “When they turned for home, she turned on the afterburners. It was good to see she had it in her to run them down. In the end, the filly took care of it.”
The Jessamine was the eighth and last Win and You’re In race toward the Oct. 30-31 Breeders’ Cup at this front-loaded fall meet, and as such, Harmonize earned an expenses-paid berth into the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. Sapphire Kitten also will go if she can make it into the field, said owner Ken Ramsey.
Carleigh Belle set the pace in the Jessamine at 139-1 but was finished before the field straightened for home. Moms Choice and Family Tree then went to the lead, but then Sapphire Kitten emerged from the pack, only to be overtaken by the far-outside move of Harmonize. Sapphire Kitten was another 4 1/2 lengths before Outsider Art.
Harmonize, by Scat Daddy, was the lone stakes winner coming into the race, having captured the P.G. Johnson last month at Saratoga in her second out.
The $2 exacta (4-6) paid $31.40, the $1 trifecta (4-6-14) returned $187, and the 10-cent superfecta (4-6-14-7) was worth $117.70.
La Piba and Felt in Pocket, both also-eligibles, were the only scratches.
Ontrack attendance on a warm, sunny afternoon was 9,685.