Message, Proud Emma dead-heat for win in Tranquility Lake Stakes
The 4-year-old fillies Message and Proud Emma were inseparable at the finish of Friday’s $77,950 Tranquility Lake Stakes for fillies and mares at Del Mar.
The two finished in a dead heat in the restricted one-mile race, reaching the finish in 1:37.27.
Message, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Flavien Prat, set a solid pace of 22.57 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.37 for a half-mile, with Proud Emma three wide in a stalking position.
Proud Emma, trained by Peter Miller and ridden by Mike Smith, advanced from third to second in the field of five to challenge Message entering the stretch. The two fillies ran together to the wire. Proud Emma, racing on the outside, held an advantage with a sixteenth of a mile remaining before Message drew alongside in the final stride.
“I thought he was ahead of me,” Prat said of Smith. “I was glad I got the bob.”
Smith feared Message had grabbed the lead in the last stride from Proud Emma.
“My filly’s head was on the way up and his way on the way down,” he said.
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Hang a Star, the 8-5 favorite, finished third, beaten 3 1/4 lengths, followed by Zusha and Smiling Shirlee.
Proud Emma paid $3.20 to win, while Message paid $3.60. Proud Emma was the 2-1 second choice, while Message was 5-2.
The Tranquility Lake was restricted to fillies and mares who had not won a stakes worth $50,000 or more to the winner, other than in statebred races, at a mile or longer since Feb. 1.
Message, by Warrior’s Reward, has won 3 of 10 starts and earned $1434,516 for Baoma Corp. Message was third in the Beverly Lewis Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Los Alamitos last September in her stakes debut.
Proud Emma, by Include, has won 5 of 13 starts and earned $236,158 for the partnership of Gem Inc., Tom Kagele, and Steven Tartaglione.
Proud Emma has run in five stakes in her career, including fourth-place finishes in the Grade 2 Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct in April 2019 and the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs a month later.