Let Her Inspire U finds first stakes victory in Empire Distaff
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
Let Her Inspire U continued her highly successful 3-year-old campaign Sunday, capturing her first career stakes in taking the $250,000 Empire Distaff by 2 1/4 lengths at Aqueduct.
The win was the fourth from five starts this year for Let Her Inspire U, a 3-year-old daughter of Practical Joke owned by China Horse Club and trained by Todd Pletcher. Her only loss this year came to Fingal’s Cave by a half-length in the Fleet Indian Stakes at Saratoga. Fingal’s Cave is 4 for 5 with a Grade 2 stakes placing and could run in next Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
In the days leading up to the race, Pletcher said Let Her Inspire U’s effort in the Fleet Indian led him to try her at nine furlongs again. In between, she won a one-mile allowance race to prepare her for this.
On Sunday, Let Her Inspire U likely benefitted from her outside post in the Empire Distaff as there was a lot of bumping out of the gate to her inside.
Under Irad Ortiz Jr., Let Her Inspire U attended the pace, stalking from second the pace of Brattle House, who ran a half-mile in 49.33 seconds. At the three-eighths pole, Let Her Inspire U put a nose in front of Brattle House and Ortiz had yet to ask his filly to run.
She came into the lane with a clear advantage and, though Sharp Starr, last year’s Empire Distaff winner, tried to make a run at her, Let Her Inspire U found another gear and drew off for the victory.
“At the three-eighths pole, I let her do her thing and she picked it up,” Ortiz said. “When she made the lead, I kept letting her do her thing. I felt like I had a lot of horse turning for home, and she just took off.”
Let Her Inspire U covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.88 and returned $6.10 as the 2-1 favorite.
Let Her Inspire U was the third winner on the card for Ortiz Jr., who won the Belmont at The Big A meet rider’s title with 35 wins.
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