Jolie Olimpica impresses with Nassau Stakes victory
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Jolie Olimpica got back on Lasix and got the job done impressively as the favorite in Saturday’s Grade 2 Nassau, in her first start at her new Woodbine base.
In a driving rainstorm, Honey Cake went straight to the front and set an honest pace in the one-mile turf event. Jolie Olimpica and Another Time stalked the leader before the former assumed command early in the stretch before opening up a clear lead.
Abscond, victorious in the Grade 1 Natalma here two years ago, rallied stoutly on the outside, but Jolie Olimpica never folded and prevailed by three-quarters of a length, in a time of 1:34.83.
Our Secret Agent finished a non-threatening third, and Tappitty Tappitty checked in fourth in the 12-horse field of fillies and mares.
Luis Contreras rode Jolie Olimpica for trainer Jose Carroll.
“I was so confident every single step of the way,” Contreras said. “Turning for home, it felt like she just broke from the gate again.”
Jolie Olimpica ($5.30) earned $105,000 of the $177,300 purse for Fox Hill Farm.
Jolie Olimpica, a 5-year-old Brazilian import by Drosselmeyer, made the board in all six of her previous starts in North America in turf stakes for trainer Richard Mandella. She won two graded sprints at Santa Anita, and was second in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley last July at Keeneland. She was sent to Carroll after ending up third against males in the Grade 3 San Simeon at Santa Anita in March.
Horses cannot race on Lasix in open stakes in California, and Mandella told Daily Racing Form in early April that Jolie Olimpica had bled in a race, necessitating her relocation.
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