I Still Miss You leads all the way in Astoria Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. - I Still Miss You remained undefeated in two starts Thursday after she led throughout to win the $150,000 Astoria for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont Park.

She darted home by 2 1/4 lengths over Best Performance; it was another head back to Waki Patriot in third.

The Astoria was a 5 1/2-furlong race.

I Still Miss You ($10.80) broke on top and proceeded to set fractions of 22.19 seconds for the opening quarter, and 45.60 for the half-mile. She went on to cover the distance on a track rated fast in 1:04.85.

“She’s a very straightforward filly,” winning rider Javier Castellano said. “That’s that first time I rode her. She’s a very nice filly, the way she did it. She kept going all the way to the end. I think she’s special.”

Castellano was aboard for trainer Jeremiah Englehart.

“She broke good and Javier assumed position because she was on the inside,” Englehart said. “So I think that was the winning move, getting her out of there like he did.”

Englehart said he was looking at a New York-bred stakes for I Still Miss You about a month from now, but with two strong races back to back, he said he might hold off on those plans. He said he will see how I Still Miss You comes out of the Astoria, and from there determine a course of action.

“We’ll see when she’s ready next,” he said.

I Still Miss You won her career debut by 3 1/2 lengths May 11 at Belmont.

I Still Miss You is a daughter of Majestic Warrior. She races for Gold Star Racing Stable, Matthew Hand and Brian McKenzie.