I'm So Fancy comes out on top in three-horse Matchmaker

I’m So Fancy set a walking pace and out-kicked two rivals in a scratched-down renewal of the Grade 3, $150,000 Matchmaker Stakes on Saturday evening at Monmouth Park.

Seven were entered but only three went to post in the Matchmaker, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for older fillies and mares that I’m So Fancy and jockey Trevor McCarthy controlled from start to finish.

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I’m So Fancy was bred in Ireland and campaigned there until this season, and she must have felt right at home going a half-mile in 52.19 seconds, a slow race dynamic more like a European-style contest than an American one. McCarthy did a smart thing, letting I’m So Fancy stoke up a bit entering the far turn and opening a few lengths on 2-5 favorite Competitionofideas. So easy had been I’m So Fancy’s lead that McCarthy knew his mount would have something left for the final stages even if he used her a little on the turn, and the daylight lead she took to the quarter-pole probably made the difference.

With Competitionofideas locking the race's third horse, Touriga, down at the inside, the trio sprinted for home, I’m So Fancy getting her final furling in 11.40 seconds for a final time of 1:51.11 and a head victory over Competitionofideas, whose final lunge fell just short. Touriga came home just behind the top pair and might have won had she ever found clear running in the homestretch.

Arnaud Delacour trains I’m So Fancy for the Lael Stables of Roy and Gretchen Jackson. I’m So Fancy, a 5-year-old by Rajj out of Royal Jelly, by King’s Best, was fourth in her U.S. debut in May before winning a $100,000 race last month at Laurel.