Interpolate turns tables on Girl Trouble in Ruthless Stakes
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A troubled start, a hurried trip and a sloppy track all worked against Interpolate when she finished fourth behind Girl Trouble in the Parx Futurity last month.
A smoother start, a cleaner trip and a fast track all worked in Interpolate’s favor on Sunday at Aqueduct when she defeated Girl Trouble by 2 1/2 lengths in the $100,000 Ruthless Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.
Girl Trouble, the 3-2 Ruthless favorite and part of the early pace, finished second by 2 3/4 lengths over the late-running Malibu Moonshine. Royal Poppy and Senior Prank completed the order of finish. The Ruthless, originally carded for Saturday, was run Sunday after the Saturday card was canceled due to extreme cold.
The win was the second from four starts for Interpolate, a daughter of Into Mischief trained by Chad Brown for Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables.
Eric Cancel rode Interpolate Sunday, subbing for Kendrick Carmouche, who will miss three to four weeks due to a hairline fracture in his right leg suffered Thursday.
On Sunday, Cancel kept Interpolate just off the pace, but, with a gap between pacesetters Girl Trouble and Royal Poppy, Interpolate was not getting kickback in her face. Going into the turn, when Royal Poppy moved closer to Girl Trouble, Cancel moved Interpolate three-wide to keep her in the clear.
At the quarter pole, Interpolate drew even with the pacesetting duo - who went a half-mile in 48.50 seconds - and with some right-handed encouragement from Cancel, Interpolate drew away in the lane.
“Looking at her last race it looked like she had a little bit of a rough trip,” Cancel said. “I just tried to not get in her way today, let her be comfortable out there and she did all the [work].”
Interpolate covered the seven furlongs in 1:26.44 and returned $11.80 as the fourth choice in the field of five.
“I love how Eric filled in here and got her out of the gate but didn’t rush her and let her find her stride,” Brown told the New York Racing Association publicity department. “I felt comfortable when she was taking him through every stage of the race - that’s really what I wanted to see, for her to be taking the rider somewhere.”
Brown, who is pointing Busanda winner Occult to the Grade 3 Gazelle for 3-year-old fillies here on April 8, said he might cut Interpolate back to six furlongs in the $100,000 Cicada Stakes here on March 18 rather than stretch her out to a mile in the $200,000 Busher on March 4.
The defeat snapped a three-race winning streak for Girl Trouble.
“Jose [Lezcano] said she might have been fighting the track a little bit,” trainer Butch Reid said. “[Royal Poppy] coming up to her outside probably didn’t help, but they were going slow-enough fractions. I really don’t have much of an excuse. I thought she ran well and gamely.”
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