Isabella Sings displays new tactics in Miss Liberty

Isabella Sings's speed has served her well on occasion and hindered her at other times. On Sunday in the $82,000 Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth Park, she showed a new dimension by sitting off the early leaders. The result was a 1 1/2-length victory in the mile turf race for fillies and mares.

Isabella Sings has been a hit-the-ground-running type of filly throughout her career. In the Miss Liberty, My Sweet Girl, Cali Thirty Seven, and Speed Seeker broke sharply from their inside posts and Paco Lopez decided to keep Isabella Sings off the pace. He took her down to the inside and was able to keep her relatively quiet while tracking the front-runners.

My Sweet Girl and Speed Seeker ended up on the front end while Cali Thirty Seven raced just to the outside of Isabella Sings. The fractions were quick over the sun-baked course with the quarter-mile going in 22.72 seconds and the half in 45.43.

On the far turn, My Sweet Girl took the lead and Speed Seeker and Cali Thirty Seven began to back up. Lopez sent Isabella Sings outside My Sweet Girl nearing the quarter pole. She took the lead in upper stretch and pulled away.

Isabella Sings paid $4.20 as the favorite in the 10-horse field. She was timed in 1:33.61 after My Sweet Girl completed six furlongs in a blistering 1:08.64.

Isabella Sings, a 4-year-old daughter of Eskendereya who is owned and was bred by Siena Farms, now has a 14-5-4-0 record and earnings of $391,950. She had faced division leader Tepin in her two starts prior to the Miss Liberty, finishing seventh in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day and second, beaten only a length, in the Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in March.

Chicago shipper Seeking Treasure rallied to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Miss Atomic Bomb. My Sweet Girl was fourth, three-quarters of a length farther back.

Seeking Treasure and Miss Atomic Bomb both raced at the rear of the field in the early going.

Speed Seeker and Cali Thirty Seven ended up eighth and ninth, respectively.