Miss Marissa outruns Gibberish in Delaware Handicap

Miss Marissa has Bonny South's number.

Last fall, Miss Marissa upset Bonny South in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico. On Saturday, she did it again, this time with a front-running performance in the Grade 2, $400,000 Delaware Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles.

Trained by Jim Ryerson for Cammarota Racing, Miss Marissa broke sweetly under Daniel Centeno and settled outside of Gibberish through an opening quarter-mile of 25.15 seconds.

Trevor McCarthy, aboard Gibberish, looked to get off the inside from the opening bell and he accomplished the task on the backstretch. That allowed Miss Marissa to lay claim to the lead and the rail for the backstretch run.

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Miss Marissa stepped the half-mile in 50.10 seconds as odds-on favorite Bonny South, fresh off a runner-up effort to divisional leader Letruska in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont, settled into a comfortable spot in between horses in the second flight.

Bonny South came under urging entering the second turn, however, and was merely one-paced as Miss Marissa and Gibberish got away from the field.

Miss Marissa turned into the stretch a couple of paths off the inside and always held Gibberish safe. The winner finished up in 2:04.50 while 1 1/4 lengths better than Gibberish. It was another half-length back to the runner-up's uncoupled stablemate Queen Nekia in third. Dream Marie was fourth. Bonny South never got involved and finished fifth, 8 1/2 lengths behind the winner.

Miss Marissa paid $11.40 to Win, $6.60 to Place, and $8.00 to show as Bonny South took $103,792 of the $136,991 in the show pool.

"Through the stretch the first time, all of a sudden, they took a big hold of the one [Gibberish]," Ryerson said. "We're not going to do that. I know they went slow, but our intent wasn't to try and slow it down. We just feel that her strength is that she has speed and the ability to relax. I was very surprised that the one took back and put us in that spot."

Ryerson mentioned the Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign on Aug. 28 at Saratoga as Miss Marissa's next goal. The Personal Ensign is a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Distaff. "She's going to go back to Belmont tonight. In three or four days, we're going to move her up to Saratoga."