Lipstick City debuts on dirt with Wasted Tears victory

Running on dirt for the first time, Lipstick City romped in the slop in the $75,000 Wasted Tears at Gulfstream Park on Sunday.

The 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares was originally scheduled for turf, but due to heavy rainfall was moved to the main track. With six scratches, only seven horses started.

With a 466 Tomlinson Figure for wet tracks, it wasn’t surprising to see Lipstick City thrive running over a track labeled sloppy. She posted a final time of 1:43.75 and paid $9.20.

With Nik Juarez riding, Lipstick City settled into a stalking position between horses while Tiffany Case posted a 49.03 half-mile time. Heavily favored Spanish Harlem, who stalked the pace while going three wide, looked like she might be gone when she easily took over the lead on the stretch turn.

However, Lipstick City started to make her presence known after splitting horses just past the half-mile pole. She looked like a serious threat at the top of the stretch, and blew by Spanish Harlem at the eighth-pole. The final margin was 6 3/4 lengths. My Cousin Martha made a late move to finish a non-threatening third.

A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of City Zip, Lipstick City is trained by David Fawkes and races for Steve Laymon, William G. Robbins, Richard Broadbent IV, and William F. Robbins.

It was Lipstick City’s third stakes win and fourth overall from 12 starts. The $45,570 winner’s share of the purse increases her lifetime earnings to $207,469.