Heavenhasmynikki gets her graded win in Vagrancy

ELMONT, N.Y. - Heavenhasmynikki has traveled the country in search of a graded stakes victory. She finally got it on Saturday in New York, holding off a late run from Pacific Gale to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Vagrancy Handicap by a head at Belmont Park.

The win was the seventh from 14 starts for Heavenhasmynikki, an Ohio-bred daughter of Majestic Warrior owned by Ron Paolucci and trained by Bob Hess Jr. Paolucci named the filly in honor of his daughter Nicole, who in 2016 died at the age of 21.

“I think I got more gratification from this than even Ria Antonia,” Paolucci, who won the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with Ria Antonia, said from Ohio where he watched the race from home. “This filly, from the get-go, was very talented.”

In 2017, Paolucci wanted to run Heavenhasmynikki as an unstarted filly in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, but was denied by the Breeders’ Cup.

Heavenhasmynikki had raced at seven tracks prior to Belmont and had won restricted stakes in Ohio and was third, beaten one length by Midnight Bisou, in the Houston Ladies’ Classic at Sam Houston in January.

She entered the Vagrancy off a front-running allowance victory at Mahoning Valley on April 15.

Saturday, under Kendrick Carmouche, Heavenhasmynikki used her speed to open a one-length advantage over two-time Grade 1 winner Separationofpowers through a quarter in 22.58 seconds and a half-mile in 45.21.

Turning for home, Separationofpowers couldn’t keep up, and Heavenhasmynikki came to the eighth pole with a three-length lead.

Joe Bravo, stuck inside aboard Pacific Gale, was able to find running room in the last sixteenth of a mile, but her rally fell just short.

Pacific Gale finished second by 2 1/4 lengths over Separationofpowers. Dawn the Destroyer and Holiday Disguise completed the order of finish.

Heavenhasmynikki covered 6 1/2 furlongs in a quick 1:14.99 and returned $10.40 as the 4-1 fourth choice in the field of five.

“She broke very sharp," Carmouche said. "Bob and Ron put me on this horse to make sure she’d break good and put her on the lead. I just had to get the second half as slow as I could to hold off [Pacific Gale], and she did.”

For Hess, it was his first stakes victory at Belmont after 14 previous tries.

“I felt she had a pace advantage,” Hess said. “I felt we needed every bit of that.”

Pacific Gale finished second in a graded stakes for the third time in her last four tries. She is 0 for 11 in stakes.

“As soon as he got her free she came running,” trainer John Kimmel said. “My kudos to the winner. She didn’t stop running because we were really running.”

While Heavenhasmynikki will likely return to Keeneland to train, her next start will most likely be at Belmont Park in either the Grade 3, $250,00 Bed o’ Roses Invitational going seven furlongs on June 7 or the Grade 1, $700,000 Ogden Phipps going 1 1/16 miles here on June 8.