Minit to Stardom shocks Honorable Miss at 20-1
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Owner Evelyn Benoit celebrated her 70th birthday in style Wednesday at Saratoga as she watched her homebred filly Minit to Stardom score a gate-to-wire victory in the Grade 2, $200,00 Honorable Miss Handicap as the longest shot on the board at 20-1.
Under Alex Cintron, Minit to Stardom jumped out on top, set modest fractions of 22.19 for the quarter and 45.19 for the half with favorite Mia Mischief stalking her from the inside, and was never seriously threatened in the stretch, winning by 1 1/2 lengths over the late-running Chalon. It was head back to Ours to Run -- like the winner a Louisiana-bred -- in third.
Mia Mischief, the 6-5 favorite under Ricardo Santana Jr., chased Minit to Stardom, first from the inside down the backstretch, then from the outside in the lane, but was no match and faded to fourth. Honey Bunny and Pacific Gale completed the order of finish.
Minit to Stardom covered six furlongs in 1:08.81 and returned $43.40 to win.
The win was especially sweet for Benoit as, in addition to celebrating her birthday, it was the first graded stakes victory for her stallion Star Guitar, a four-time Louisiana-bred Horse of the Year who won 24 of 30 starts and earned nearly $1.75 million. Star Guitar stands at Clear Creek Stud in Louisiana for $7,500. Also, the win came a few hours after Star Fitzstall, a 3-year-old full brother to Minit to Stardom, won a maiden turf race at Delaware Park.
“What a day,” Benoit said, adding that she met her husband -- who is currently in a coma in Louisiana -- many years ago on July 24.
Minit to Stardom was coming off two allowance wins, one on dirt at Delaware on May 8, one on turf at Laurel on June 7. Trainer Jose Camejo said he was planning to run Minit to Stardom in last weekend’s Caress Stakes on turf here, but felt he needed to get one more workout into her, which he did last Thursday, the day after entries for the Caress.
“There wasn’t enough time for us to enter. That’s when we decided to give her a shot in this race,” said Camejo, who won with his first starter at Saratoga.
Cintron was quite confident after Minit to Stardom got away with an easy first quarter and a half-mile in 45.19 seconds.
“I knew turning for home if she was going to get beat, it would have to be by a really nice horse,” Camejo said. “She was the best one today.”
The Honorable Miss is the prep for the Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina here on Aug. 24, a likely next stop for Minit to Stardom.