Morticia snaps losing streak in Giant's Causeway

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Those who noted Morticia's record on the Keeneland turf course weren't spooked by her winless streak dating to last summer. The sizeable crowd at Keeneland on Saturday made her the favorite for the $100,000 Giant's Causeway Stakes, and the mare rewarded her backers with a game neck victory in the stakes for fillies and mares sprinting on the turf.

Morticia ($6.40) has been a model of consistency on the Keeneland turf, never finishing worse than third in five starts on the course, all in stakes company. The Twirling Candy mare, who was co-bred by trainer Rusty Arnold and owner G. Watts Humphrey Jr., won the Grade 3 Franklin County Stakes in 2017, was second in the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes in 2017, and finished third in both the Giant's Causeway and Franklin County last year.

Overall, Morticia has now won or placed in 16 stakes in her career. However, she came into this year's Giant's Causeway off a six-race losing streak that began after she won the Penn Ladies Dash Stakes in June of last year.

"You worry about it," Arnold said, when asked if the 5-year-old had lost a step. “But she had trained great.”

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Arnold pointed to various circumstances leading to Morticia's losses, such as the mare drawing the inside slot a few times. Her most recent outing prior to Saturday, when she was beaten a neck after leading into the lane in the Captiva Island Stakes on March 9 at Gulfstream, came after an unplanned two-month layoff, as Morticia was entered for the Ladies’ Turf Sprint in January at Gulfstream, but was scratched when that race was rained off the turf.

Morticia and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. were in fourth and about 3 1/2 lengths back as Seeknthegiantpearl, the longest shot on the board, took the field through a blistering opening quarter of 21.87 seconds. Ortiz swung Morticia out into the six path around the turn, and the mare came flying in the lane, inching clear of the pacesetters and then holding off a charge from Excessivespending, who rallied widest of all in the seven path.

"She relaxed behind some horses, and I didn’t rush her,” Ortiz said. “And when I tipped her out in the stretch, she responded really well.

The final time for the 5 1/2 furlongs on turf rated firm was 1:03.18.

After Excessivespending, it was a length back to Surrender now, who rallied for third while shipping in from California for her first start since August. The top three were followed, in order, by Luvin Bullies, La Dame Blanche, Factorofwon, Seekinthegiantpearl, Straitouttapopcorn, Student Body, and A Little Bit Me.