Kentucky Cup: Charming Vixen gets maiden win in Juvenile Fillies

FLORENCE, Ky. - Charming Vixen entered Saturday's $100,000 Tiznow Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies at Turfway Park as a maiden. More importantly, she left it as a stakes winner.

Always prominent under Calvin Borel, Charming Vixen surged to a clear lead entering the stretch and pulled clear to 3 1/2-length victory over longshot Heated Debate.

"I was very impressed," said Borel of the filly, who picked her first victory in four starts. "The main thing was trying to get her to relax."

Her eagerness to go was evident in the Juvenile Fillies, with Borel having her under a hard hold early, pressing longshot Best of Times through fractions of 48.30 seconds and 1:14.10 in the mile race on Polytrack.

Thereafter, the race was never close, though Borel kept her under pressure to the wire. A daughter of Bernstein, she raced a mile in 1:40.77, paying $8.40.

Heated Debate rallied to finish 1 1/4 lengths in front of Spring Eclipse in third. Favored Rainbow Blossom ran last of nine after being fractious in the starting gate.

Tom Amoss trained the winner for owner Goldmark Farm, though Amoss was unable to join in the winner's circle celebration, working onset for TVG for its coverage of the Kentucky Cup.

There were three scratches, longshot Tavern On the Bay, morning-line favorite Flashy Lassie, and Victorian Diva, who was scratched in the paddock after flipping and injuring herself.

Victoria Diva bled profusely from her head in front of worried onlookers, but after being attended by horsemen and track officials, she eventually left the paddock under her own power. Her injury was not expected to be life threatening, according to a track spokesman.