Lovely Bernadette makes Mrs. Revere third straight stakes win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Although the stakes competition continues to be more demanding for Lovely Bernadette, the victories just keep on coming. On Friday she notched her third consecutive stakes victory by taking the Grade 2, $200,000 Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs.

The win followed triumphs in the Indiana Grand and Grade 3 Valley View Stakes.

In a race that shaped up void of pace, Lovely Bernadette utilized her tactical speed to get a far better trip than some of her late-rallying rivals. She was comfortable sitting second in the 1 1/16-mile Mrs. Revere, just off the flank of 66-1 longshot Marina’s Legacy, as that one set an easy half-mile in 50.92 seconds over a Churchill “good” course that produced slow times.

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Cut loose by Geroux leaving the second turn, she hit the front with six furlongs in 1:16.70, and had plenty left when Journey Home and later Daddy’s Lil Darling launched bids down the lane. She turned back their challenges and crossed the wire a half-length in front, completing 1 1/16 miles on the grass in 1:47.02.

Geroux credited the filly for the smooth trip, noting she positioned herself and gave her best down the lane. “All the time she felt (Journey Home) coming at her she was responding pretty well,” he said.

Journey Home, hung wide throughout, couldn’t quite close the gap and just managed to hold the place by a neck over late-charging favorite Daddy’s Lil Darling.

Lovely Bernadette ($9.80), a 3-year-old daughter of Wilburn, elevated her earnings to $508,513 for owner James Miller with her Mrs. Revere triumph, and left trainer Jimmy DiVito excited for what lay ahead.

“She’s become a monster on the grass,” he said. “Hopefully next year she will be even better.”