Ivy Bell earns first graded win in Inside Information

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It wasn’t easy, but in the end Ivy Bell ran to her even-money backing and became a graded stakes winner after overcoming an eventful trip to register a well-deserved one-length victory over Jordan’s Henny in Saturday’s $200,000 Inside Information at Gulfstream Park.

Ivy Bell, making her first start since being purchased privately and turned over to trainer Todd Pletcher following the conclusion of her 2017 campaign, stumbled leaving the starting gate in the Grade 2 Inside Information but recovered quickly to race within easy striking distance of the embattled leaders Rich Mommy and Moonlit Promise. But it took nearly six furlongs for jockey Javier Castellano to extricate the favorite out of traffic, as Ivy Bell remained bottled up on the turn and into the stretch.

Castellano finally grabbed his chance nearing the furlong marker, angling Ivy Bell sharply outside the leaders from where she finished full of run to win going clear. Jordan’s Henny, who became a graded stakes winner for the first time herself here earlier this winter in the Hurricane Bertie, rallied outside rivals to wrest a short advantage upon settling into the stretch, but proved no match for the winner. It was another neck back to Mines and Magic, who finished third.

Ivy Bell, a 5-year-old daughter of Archarcharch, is owned in partnership by the Mathis Stable and Madaket Stables. She completed seven furlongs over a fast track in 1:23.29 while giving Castellano his fourth of five wins on the card. She returned $4.00.

“I was just worried she’d found a seam a little too late,” said Pletcher. “That was a pretty impressive turn of foot she put in that last eighth of a mile. It’s not always easy to make up that much ground the last part of the race at Gulfstream Park. We felt confident coming in that she’d been training pretty well. We knew she had a history of some quirks around the gate and paddock, and she broke a little bit on her nose today, but recovered quickly got herself up in a good spot and delivered from there”

Pletcher said he could look to stretch Ivy Bell out in her next start.

“We have a couple of options, we’ll see how things go,” said Pletcher. “There’s a seven-furlong Grade 1 [Humana Distaff] at Churchill Downs coming up, and also a mile and one sixteenth race there, too. And she’s run well at Churchill in the past.”