Miss Leslie runs away with Delaware Handicap

Miss Leslie looked strong winning Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Delaware Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles over a sloppy main track.

Trained by Claudio Gonzalez for BB Horses, Miss Leslie settled comfortably passing the stands for the first time as Let’s Cruise made the lead from the inside post position.

Let’s Cruise was shadowed from the outside by Bees and Honey while jockey Angel Cruz placed Miss Leslie in a perfect three-wide, pacetracking position on the first turn.

Let’s Cruise rattled off fractions of 24.10 and 48.49, but Miss Leslie seemingly always had her number. Cruz pushed the button entering the second turn and Miss Leslie responded. She dispatched Let’s Cruise after six furlongs in 1:13.73, opened a clear lead turning for home and never gave Battle Bling, the second choice in the wagering, any chance.

Favored Miss Leslie rambled under the wire a whopping 12 lengths in front of Battle Bling with Tonal Vison three-quarters back in third. Miss Leslie completed the distance in 2:04.50 and returned $5.80.

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“On the first turn, you could see she moved really good,” Gonzalez said after the race. “Angel did an excellent job keeping her in the clear. She likes that and Angel knows her so well.”

Gonzalez has long maintained that Miss Leslie relishes longer-distance racing, and she had no issues whatsoever with the 1 1/4 miles.

“Longer for her is better for her. When I saw 1 1/4 miles, I wanted to take a chance,” Gonzalez said about considering the Delaware Handicap as a major goal.

Bred in Kentucky, Miss Leslie is a 4-year-old filly by Paynter. She was claimed by Gonzalez for $25,000 from her breeder, Maxis Stable, out of her maiden victory at Laurel on Nov. 13, 2020.

She has won seven stakes for Gonzalez, is unbeaten from three starts at Delaware, and has now captured three consecutive stakes. Miss Leslie boasts a career record of 10 wins from 22 starts and lifetime earnings of $865,650.

Miss Leslie began her current winning streak with a facile 4 1/4-length tally in Monmouth’s Serena’s Song on May 8. She defeated Battle Bling by a half-length when the two faced in the local prep for the Delaware Handicap, the Obeah, on June 8.

When asked whether Miss Leslie would face some of the division’s leading runners at Saratoga this summer, Gonzalez said it was under consideration. “She won impressively. We’ll take it step by step.”