Micheline sharper than expected off the bench in Hillsborough
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Mike Stidham only wanted a solid effort to catapult Micheline forward into her 4-year-old season. The veteran trainer got even more than he bargained for Saturday when Micheline, sharp as a tack, surged ahead of the cavalry charge in winning the 23rd running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Hillsborough over a firm Tampa Bay Downs turf course.
Ridden by Luis Saez for Stidham and owner Godolphin, Micheline returned a winner in her first start in nearly five months when finishing three-quarters of a length ahead of Morning Molly in the Hillsborough, a 1 1/8-mile race contested by 10 fillies and mares.
The winner, a homebred filly by Bernardini, returned $11.20 as third choice after finishing in 1:47.19.
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“It was an amazing effort from her off the bench,” Stidham said from his main winter base in New Orleans. “I might’ve only had her about 75 percent cranked up, but I felt that getting her started in this race was the right thing for moving her forward the rest of the year.”
Myhartblongstodady set the pace, with Morning Molly and Counterparty Risk tracking closest and Micheline just behind them. Into the far turn, Saez made a looping run, and by the furlong grounds, Micheline was edging away from a tight pack.
“She gave me her kick and it was super,” said Saez.
On the wire, Morning Molly bested New York Girl by a head for second, while the next four were all separated by little more than a length, including a dead heat for fourth between La Signare and Miss Teheran. Magic Attitude, a lukewarm 3-1 favorite, was seventh, just two lengths behind the winner.
Micheline had not raced since finishing second in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup last October. She now has won five of 13 starts, with this being her third stakes victory but first in a graded event. Stidham credited his local assistant, Ben Trask, with a “great job with a quirky but extremely talented filly.”
The $2 exacta (11-10) paid $173.40 and the $1 trifecta (11-10-7) returned $736.30.