Lady of City makes it look easy in Juvenile Fillies Sprint
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Lady of City was totally overlooked by the wagering public when she won her debut at odds of 38-1 on October 3. But bettors could not get enough of the promising 2-year-old filly when she returned to dominate the $75,000 Juvenile Fillies Sprint by 4 3/4 lengths over Early Spark as the prohibitive 3-5 favorite Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Lady of City, a daughter of City of Light trained by Antonio Sano, rallied from near the rear of the field to a 2 1/4-length victory in launching her career at five furlongs. And she was even better when stretching out to six panels for her stakes debut.
Lady of City raced closer to the early pace during the early stages of the Juvenile Fillies Sprint while kept within easy striking distance of Early Spark and Army Salute, who contested the pace down the backstretch. Lady of City engaged three wide for command midway the turn before ultimately overtaking Early Spark and drawing away readily through the final furlong.
Early Spark dug in to maintain a short advantage on settling into the stretch before proving no match for the winner. Hot Rod Honey finished third after looming boldly behind the top two at the head of the lane.
Lady of City completed six furlongs over a fast track in 1:11.84. She returned $3.40.
“She’s a small filly with a big heart,” Sano said after the race. “The filly improved from her last race. We’re very happy with that,” Meneses added. “I think this is a filly that wants to go a bit longer.”
Great Venezuela won for the eighth time in 11 starts on the local Tapeta track after slipping along the rail en route to a decisive 3 1/4-length victory over Braganza in the $60,000 Groupie Doll overnight handicap. The pacesetting Vindicate Cha Cha was third.
The win was the second in a row for the versatile Great Venezuela, who defeated high-priced optional claiming and allowance opposition over the turf in her previous start here three months ago.
The 5-year-old homebred mare is trained by Victor Barboza Jr. for Orlyana Farm. She was guided to victory by Diego Herrera and paid $3.80.
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