Kate's Kingdom surges past Candy Raid in My Charmer
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
Kate’s Kingdom gave trainer Will Walden his first career stakes victory when coming through as the favorite in the $124,744 My Charmer Stakes, the highlight of a rare Sunday card at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.
Getting a terrific ride from Jack Gilligan, Kate’s Kingdom was making her first start for Walden when surging past Candy Raid in deep stretch to win the 34th My Charmer by three-quarters of a length. The 4-year-old Animal Kingdom filly returned $5.30 after finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.06 over Tapeta.
Kate’s Kingdom was coming off a victory in the Grade 3 Ontario Matron, an Oct. 22 race held over Tapeta at Woodbine. She is owned by a partnership headed by Stephen Screnci.
Kate’s Kingdom broke from post 1 in a field of 12 fillies and mares, saving ground until late in the final turn, where she was still trailing all 11 before Gilligan swung her out for a searing run. Candy Raid, making just her second synthetics start after easily winning the Bourbonette at Turfway in April, had overtaken the front-runners with a steady rally before being overtaken by the winner in the final 70 yards. Champagne Lady was third and Temper Time was fourth.
:: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now!
Kate’s Kingdom had been trained by Armando De La Cerda before being purchased by the Screnci partnership at the Fasig-Tipton digital sale in early November. She now has five wins and six seconds from 19 career starts.
Walden, the 32-year-old son of WinStar Farm president Elliott Walden, began his training career in the spring, winning his first race May 13 at Churchill Downs.
Turfway normally runs Wednesdays through Saturdays, but because a country music concert featuring Sara Evans was held Saturday, an eight-race card was run Sunday instead. Turfway now resumes its regular four-day schedule through the end of the holiday meet, Dec. 31. The 2023 winter-spring meet will also start with a one-off Sunday card (Jan. 1).
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.