Maizelle rallies back to beat Prop Me Up

With Prop Me Up surging to take the lead about three-sixteenths of a mile from the finish of the Monmouth Beach Stakes, it was hard not to think about her overall career form - 24 starts, 4 wins, and 10 second-place finishes. No sooner had that thought flickered than Maizelle, the pacesetter passed at the quarter pole by a three-wide Prop Me Up, started re-rallying on the fence. And at the wire, it was Prop Me Up in her typical spot, second, with the lightly raced Maizelle running her record to 4 wins from 7 starts, with 3 second-place finishes to go with the victories.

That would make Maizelle a stable star in many outfits. As it is, she ranks somewhere down the older-mare pecking order in the Todd Pletcher murderers' row. Pletcher trains Maizelle for owners Aaron and Marie Jones, and Maizelle was patiently ridden by Chris DeCarlo.

Maizelle popped onto the early lead from her inside stall, but was challenged coming onto the backstretch by the longest shot in the field, Gipsy Limits. DeCarlo let that mare have her moment in the sun, but took control again before hitting the half-mile, and neither did he panic when Prop Me Up, who was in last behind a half-mile fraction of 47.20 seconds, overtook him at the top of the stretch. Maizelle, a strong-galloping type, continued on her steady drumbeat, sticking her nose back in front in the vicinity of the sixteenth pole and holding firm thereafter.

Maryland invader Promenade Girl got involved late and finished a close third. Maizelle ($7) was timed in 1:36.20 for a mile on dirt.