Link to My Heart outruns stablemate

Link to My Heart had made her last four starts against open company, and already had raced around two turns four times coming into Saturday's Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante Stakes. Her lone issue was dirt racing, something Link to My Heart never had tried, but that turned out to be no issue at all.

With a sharp move on the far turn under Eddie Razo, Link to My Heart got into position by the stretch run, wearing down pacesetting Carbella, and comfortably holding clear her stablemate Apple Martini to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

Chris Block trains both Link to My Heart and Apple Martini, and both are owned by the Virginia Tarra Trust. Link to My Heart, scoring her second career win, paid $12.80 to win, and was timed in 1:47.14 for 1o1/16 miles. Carbella was third, five lengths clear of the fourth-place horse.

Link to My Heart debuted in a Polytrack sprint at Arlington, then ran in four grass races, winning her maiden well on Oct. 14 at Hawthorne.

"I thought she was turf," Block said.

But Razo, who had breezed Link to My Heart long before she started, didn't seem surprised by the filly's ability to transfer her grass form to the main track.

"She worked on the dirt pretty well all the time," Razo said. "Chris told me just break, and let her relax, and she handled the dirt with no problem."