Ismelucky overcomes troubled start in Barretts Debutante

CYPRESS, Calif. – A troubled start could not prevent Ismelucky from winning her stakes debut, and first race in more than three months, in Saturday’s $100,000 Barretts Debutante at Los Alamitos.

Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Ismelucky was expected to be near the front from an inside post. When she broke slowly, Ismelucky was several lengths behind the pace for the opening quarter-mile.

The incident at the start scared trainer Jeff Bonde, who relied on Desormeaux’s patience to guide the filly through traffic.

“I said, ‘No, not really?’” Bonde said after watching the start. “We were hoping we would overcome that and thanks to Kent’s maneuvering we did.”

Desormeaux guided Ismelucky between horses on the turn and again into the stretch before moving his mount to the rail. Ismelucky wore down pacesetter Shaken Memories in the final furlong to win by a half-length.

Sent off favored, Ismelucky ($4.40) ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:17.84.

Shaken Memories, a 14-1 shot, finished a half-length in front of Exuberance, the 8-5 second choice.

Helen’s Tiger was fourth, followed by My Claw, Unchanged, Fiftyeight Special, Funny Bean, and Expendy.

Ismelucky beat maidens at Santa Anita on May 18 and did not race again until Saturday’s race. Expendy won a $30,000 claimer for maidens here on Sept. 10. The other seven fillies in the Barretts Debutante are maidens.

The race was restricted to 2-year-old fillies offered at a Barretts sale. Ismelucky was purchased for $90,000 at the Barretts October Yearling Sale in 2016 and races for Bonde and Jerome Russell.

Ismelucky, by Lucky Pulpit, has won 2 of 3 starts and earned $105,420. Bonde said the filly was given a break in early summer after she was “a little tight behind.”

Ismelucky may start in the $200,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies for California-bred 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar on Nov. 3, on the undercard of the first day of the Breeders’ Cup races.