Miss You Ella gives Zayas win No. 2,000 in Cellars Shiraz

Under a perfectly timed ride by Edgard Zayas, Miss You Ella got up in time to edge Omixochitl in the $70,000 Cellar Shiraz for fillies and mares at Gulfstream Park on Friday.

The victory gave Zayas 2,000 wins in a distinguished career that began in South Florida in 2012.

"It feels amazing," said Zayas. "It was a little harder than I thought to get the last one, but we were close a few times and hopefully there’s more to come."

Zayas was able to celebrate the milestone victory in the winner's circle with his wife Ashley and daughters Lilian (5) and Lilah (21 months).

"For them to be here is very special," he said "Their support means everything."

Miss You Ella paid $6.60 for her three-quarter-length victory in the mile and 70-yard race on Tapeta.

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Miss You Ella broke sharply from post 2 and stalked the pace from along the inside. Zayas moved her off the rail to pass a tiring Frippet, angled her out mid-stretch and under strong urging she finished full of run.

Omixochitl forced a slow pace, appeared to be home and cooled out when she opened up a clear lead mid-stretch, but hung late. Jumeirah rallied to finish third.

The final time was 1:43.81.

"My plan was to try to follow her [Omixochitl]. The last time they ran together, she beat her," said Zayas. "I thought if I had a shot to beat her, I just had to follow her around and see if I could finish it. As soon as she got in the clear, she finished up really strong. She keeps improving every race."

A Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Declaration of War, Miss You Ella is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. and races for Wonder Stables, Madakaet Stables, and Golconda Stable.

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