Kathryn the Wise much the best in Critical Eye Stakes
ELMONT, N.Y. – When she’s on top of her game, Kathryn the Wise is not only unbeatable, she’s virtually untouchable.
There was little doubt Kathryn the Wise was on her game Monday at Belmont Park, the speedy filly leading throughout to post an easy five-length victory over Midnight Disguise and four other overmatched New York-bred fillies and mares in the $200,000 Critical Eye Stakes. Javier Castellano rode Kathryn the Wise for trainer Chad Brown, giving the pair their second stakes success of the day, the duo teaming up to take the Mount Vernon an hour earlier with Fifty Five.
The win was the fifth in eight starts for Kathryn the Wise, those victories coming by a combined margin of nearly 42 lengths. She captured the one-mile Critical Eye for the second time in the last three years, having splashed to an even easier 8 1/4-length triumph over a sloppy track here in 2017.
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Kathryn the Wise, returning to statebred company off the worst performance of her career, a distant sixth-place finish in the Grade 3 Distaff Handicap earlier this spring at Aqueduct, broke in stride and quickly established a clear advantage. A homebred daughter of Uncle Mo owned by Lawrence Goichman, Kathryn the Wise set a lively pace posting splits of 22.49 and 45.12 seconds for the opening half-mile. She settled into the stretch with a comfortable advantage and despite the grueling early fractions had plenty left down the lane while being geared down some by Castellano during the latter stages of the race.
Midnight Disguise rallied mildly from between horses to easily be second-best, finishing 3 1/2 lengths in front of Bonita Bianca. Still There, the tepid 9-5 favorite, saved ground but came up empty at the end, finishing a disappointing fourth making her first start off an eight-month layoff.
Kathryn the Wise returned $6.30 after covering the distance over a fast track in a brisk 1:33.63.
“After her last start at Aqueduct, she seems to have rebounded fine,” said Whit Beckman, assistant to Brown, who was not in attendance for the race. “She runs well on the lead. We didn’t expect to be in front like that, but it worked out well for us.”