Miss Dracarys holds off Evvie Jets in Forever Together

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Miss Dracarys ran well as the hunter. She’s run better as the hunted.

For the second straight race, Miss Dracarys was able to dictate terms on the front end, and for the second straight race, she won, turning back Evvie Jets in midstretch and edging clear to a one-length victory in Sunday’s $135,000 Forever Together Stakes at Aqueduct.

Evvie Jets, coming off a win in the Grade 3 Nobel Damsel Stakes, finished second by four lengths over Coconut Cake. Finest Work, Messidor, the 6-5 favorite, and Lashara completed the order of finish. Por Que No, Fluffy Socks and Exotic West, the main-track-only entrant, scratched.

The scratch of Por Que No was important for Miss Dracarys, as that horse seemed to be the other speed in the race. The scratch of Fluffy Socks was also key, as it took the morning-line favorite out of the field.

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Dylan Davis hustled Miss Dracarys to the front and she was 3 1/2 lengths clear after an opening quarter of 24.35 seconds. She maintained a clear advantage through a half-mile in 48.73 seconds and six furlongs in 1:13.05. In midstretch, Evvie Jets, under Eric Cancel, came to Miss Dracarys, but the latter dug in and edged away for the win.

It was the second straight win, fourth from 12 starts and first in a stakes for Miss Dracarys, a 4-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon owned by Al Shira’aa Farm and trained by Neil Drysdale. She was coming off a front-running allowance win here on Oct. 20, when ridden by Davis.

“She ended up breaking well, I helped her get to the turn and found myself on the lead again, so just trying to make the last race,” Davis said. “She has kind of one pace, so I got into her at the three-eighths pole to get her run going and she’s a fighter. When a horse challenges her, you saw her fight off the challenge.”

Eric Cancel, aboard Evvie Jets, felt his filly was “spinning her wheels” over the frozen turf.

“It was a little bit hard for her,” Cancel said. “She tried, we just couldn’t get there today.”

Miss Dracarys covered the 1 1/16 miles over turf labeled firm in 1:42.40 and returned $12.80 to win.

Davis had ridden Miss Dracarys last year when she finished third in the Winter Memories Stakes here.

“Neil gave me instructions and thought we had to cover up and she did run well like that, but we tried something new two back,” Davis said. "I still think she could do well covered up but she definitely has to be in the game going into that first turn.”

Drysdale, who watched the race from California, said, "I think she can do both, but there wasn’t much pace in the race, so the jockey made the right decision.”

Drysdale said that Kieran Lalor, general manager for Al Shira’aa Farms, told him after the race that Miss Dracarys will stay in training next year. She will get a break in Kentucky and likely return to the New York circuit.

“She likes the eastern tracks,” Drysdale said.

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