Kingsolver runs down favored My Sweetheart in Schuylerville

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Rodolphe Brisset believes Kingsolver may ultimately wind being a turf filly. But the field for Friday’s $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes was coming up so light that he felt he had to give his 2-year-old filly another try on dirt.

Brisset was rewarded for that decision when Kingsolver, under Flavien Prat, rallied by favored My Sweetheart in deep stretch to win the Schuylerville by two lengths. It was three lengths back from My Sweetheart to Simone in third. She was followed by Miss Magical, Bay Yaupon, and Evolution.

Brisset felt that Kingsolver came out of the strongest maiden 2-year-old filly dirt race at Churchill Downs. His filly finished fifth, but with less than a clean trip.

“I don’t think we saw what we were hoping to see the first race,” Brisset said. “She got bumped, got a little green, not bad but just enough . . . I think it was the best 2-year-old maiden filly in Churchill the whole spring.

“From there, if you put the puzzle together, and she was doing good, the fact it didn’t look like it was going to be too strong on the past performances, you got to take a shot. What you can get now you don’t have to get later.”

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports

Kingsolver was part of an early four-ply speed duel. Frankie Dettori, on My Sweetheart, didn’t want to be four wide so he let his filly go to the lead entering the far turn. When Dettori made that move, it tightened things up on some on the horses inside of him and Luis Saez checked Evolution, who never recovered.

Around the far turn, Kingsolver was a clear second and though Prat wasn’t loving the way his filly was traveling, he didn’t think My Sweetheart was going that much stronger.

“When Frankie got in front of us, it felt like he wasn’t opening up so I thought turning for home she could have a chance and she got there,” Prat said. “When we hit the turn, Frankie went in front of me, maybe it helped her to get a target and she had a target for most of the stretch.”

Kingsolver, a daughter of Omaha Beach owned by a group led by Ted and Mary Nixon’s Storyteller Racing, covered the six furlongs in 1:13.17 and returned $8.90. Mary Nixon said the filly is named after the author Barbara Kingsolver, who wrote the book Demon Copperhead.

“They walked home, everybody was getting tired at the end,” Brisset said. “She may end up on the grass. She’s an Omaha Beach, I bought her in March, she’s a stakes winner now so [value-wise] we are where we want to be and now we can have fun the rest of the year.”

Dettori said My Sweetheart was pulling him so hard he decided to let her get to the lead so he wouldn’t continue to be four wide.

“I gave her a bit of rein, cut the corner, still going easily,” Dettori said. “She’s just a grass filly, We tried, unfortunately we didn’t get to the line. On grass we would have done it.”

On dirt, Kingsolver did do it.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.