Holywell uses speed to win My Dear Girl

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Holywell used her abundant speed and advantageous inside post to her best advantage, leading throughout to register a 1 ¼-length victory over the 8-5 favorite Moment of Dixie in Saturday’s $350,000 My Dear Girl Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Awesome Ice finished a distant third.

The victory gave Holywell, a homebred daughter of Exclusive Quality owned and bred by Tracy Pinchin, victories in two of the three legs of the filly division of the Florida Sire Series. She also won the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl four weeks earlier. A troubled trip cost Holywell any chance of sweeping the series when she finished a distant sixth in the Desert Vixen.

As expected, Holywell sprinted right to the front from the inside under jockey Orlando Bocachica. Although a bit rank early, she was able to slow the pace to a relative crawl, completing her opening quarter in 25.62 and half mile in 50.58 while stalked from the outset by Moment of Dixie. And as was the case in the Susan’s Girl, Holywell proved too good once again, shaking well clear in early stretch before withstanding a mild closing surge from the runner-up. It was another nine lengths farther back to Awesome Ice.

Hollywell completed a mile and one-sixteenth in 1:46.08 and paid $10.20. The win was the biggest in the 40-year career of trainer Jose Pinchen, who came to south Florida 13 years ago from his native Jamaica.

“She ran exactly how I expected her to run,” said Pinchen. “Get the lead from the one hole and after that, she did it all. Last time after she won the race, she galloped out five or six lengths in front of the field. So I knew she was going to stay the distance. The last time she ran the whole seven furlongs straight. I knew today, she’d get a break.”

Pinchen said although Holywell is Breeders’ Cup-eligible, he has no intentions of taking her to Santa Anita and will instead point for the Grade 3 Delta Downs Princess at Delta Downs on Nov. 22.