Ms Meshak pulls clear late in Added Elegance
Ms Meshak rallied from midpack when giving apprentice Cristian Torres his first stakes victory Saturday in the $75,000 Added Elegance at Gulfstream Park in South Florida.
Torres, replacing the injured Jairo Rendon, gave Ms Meshak a great trip, as the 4-year-old Florida-bred filly responded by pulling away from front-running Razorback Lady in the final 100 yards.
Ms Meshak, a daughter of Shackleford, is trained by Joe Orseno for her breeders, Northwind Thoroughbreds. Sent away the third choice in a field of 10 fillies and mares, Ms Meshak returned $12 after finishing the seven-furlong distance in 1:24.71 over a dried-out track rated fast.
Razorback Lady, the 5-2 second choice, held well to be second, ahead of 90-1 shot Amaluna, who was along late for third. Royal Asscher, the 2-1 favorite, faltered in the turn after attending the early pace and finished well back. Sophia Is an Angel was away terribly at the start, costing herself all chance; a subsequent inquiry found her to be an official starter.
Torres, easily the leading apprentice at the Gulfstream summer meet that began July 1, only got the mount because Rendon hurt his shoulder in a spill Friday. The injury is not believed to be serious, as Rendon said he hopes to ride again Sunday, or next week at the latest.
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Torres, 21, was born in Puerto Rico and spent some of his earlier years in central Florida. His first win came in April.
The stakes win was the first for Ms Meshak, who now has won six of 14 overall starts. She was exiting a pair of turf sprints at the Churchill Downs spring meet.
The $2 exacta (5-2) paid $55, the $1 trifecta (5-2-3) returned $581.10, and the 10-cent superfecta (5-2-3-11) was worth $484.52.
The Added Elegance was restricted to fillies and mares that had not previously won a stakes. It was part of a Rainbow 6 sequence (races 7-12) that paid $507.90 for every winning 20-cent ticket. The carryover for Sunday is $321,361.
Earlier rain led to all six turf races on a 12-race card to be transferred to the main track.
The first six-figure stakes of the Gulf summer meet, the opening legs to the Florida Sire Stakes series, are set for next Saturday, Aug. 3.