Include Betty displays usual closing kick to take Mother Goose

ELMONT, N.Y. - When Include Betty came from the clouds to win her maiden and the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in January, her performances were hard to take seriously. They were fluky and possibly a result of the level of competition she was facing.

But now that she has won the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park and Saturday's Grade 1 Mother Goose at Belmont Park in the same style, there is little doubt she is for real.

As is her style, Include Betty dropped back to last in the Mother Goose. Jockey Drayden Van Dyke got her rolling on the far turn of the 1 1/16-mile race, she came five wide into the stretch - and wham - just like that the race was over. She took the lead in upper stretch and drew off to score by 3 1/4 lengths despite looking around through the final furlong.

Include Betty, a daughter of Include, is now 4 for 10 with earnings of $543,000. It's anyone's guess where she will surface next because trainer Tom Proctor, as he has done in recent months, declined to talk to the media after the race.

Include Betty paid $12.80 as the fifth choice in the 10-horse field. She covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.68 over a fast track that had some moisture in it as a light rain had fallen on and off during the afternoon.

Wonder Gal, the 7-2 favorite, was up to best 10-1 Chide by a nose for second in deep stretch. Pleasant Tales, a 48-1 longshot, finished fourth.

Include Betty received a favorable pace setup as Hot City Girl cut out quick fractions of 22.66 and 45.50 seconds while being dogged by Embellish the Lace. Pleasant Tales tracked the top pair in third and there was a gap of several lengths back to the rest of the field.

On the turn, Wonder Gal moved up four wide with six furlongs going in 1:10.93, but Include Betty stormed by the front-runners and the game quickly was over. The final five-sixteenths of a mile was run in 33.75 in the fast-early, slow-late race.

Include Betty is owned by Brereton Jones, the owner of Airdrie Stud, and Timothy Thornton, Airdrie's general manager. She was bred by Jones and Lavin Bloodstock but was put through the 2013 Keeneland September sale and Jones and Thornton bought out their partners for $42,000.

Thornton, when reached by phone after the Mother Goose, was thrilled with Include Betty's victory.

"My family's been trying to win a Grade 1 for two generations and we finally did it," he said. "She's a small filly and has that Silky Sullivan style. She just doesn't want to run the first part of it."

Thornton said he and Jones have owned a number of horses together. "The boss is a good partner," he joked.

Thornton said they had considered running Include Betty in the Iowa Oaks but that Proctor had recommended they think about the Mother Goose, too.

Thornton wasn't sure where include Betty would start next, and neither was Van Dyke, who offered this advice. "The more distance the better," he said.

Hot City Girl tired at 57-1 to dead-heat for fifth with Eskenformoney, who was sent off at 7-2. Embellish the Lace tired to ninth at 7-2, and Munasara was last at 5-1.