Mystic Lake fastest early and late in Miss Preakness

BALTIMORE - Mystic Lake played catch me if you can on Friday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Miss Preakness Stakes at Pimlico - and they couldn't. The filly took command a few jumps out of the gate and easily held sway over favored Youalmosthadme for a 4 1/2-length win in the six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.

"Her strategy is to go to the lead and go as far as she can and as fast as she can," trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said by phone from his Florida base. "That is her strategy, there are no two ways about it. We were facing some good horses today, and we were going to get a class test. She showed up, big time."

Mystic Lake ($13.60), a Florida-bred Mo Town filly, races for C2 Racing Stable and Stefania Farms. She came to Maryland after creditable stakes performances in her home state and at Woodbine in Canada.

As a juvenile, Mystic Lake was beaten less than a length when second in the Glorious Song Stakes sprinting on Woodbine's synthetic main track. She finished third in the Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on the same surface.

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This year, she won the Gasparilla Stakes and the restricted Sophomore Fillies Stakes, both dirt sprints at Tampa Bay Downs. She then was second in the Star Shoot Stakes at Woodbine.

Mystic Lake, with Flavien Prat in the irons, broke like a shot from the inside post in the Miss Preakness and within a few jumps had cleared the field. Launch was the closest pursuer, 1 1/2 lengths back through an opening quarter of 23.09 seconds, with three-time stakes winner Youalmosthadme tucked inside of her.

Mystic Lake got her half-mile in 46.44 seconds as she cornered into the stretch with a 1 1/2-length lead. Youalmosthadme tipped out to make a run as Launch faded, but never got closer than three lengths as Mystic Lake easily had enough to keep pulling clear.

"My filly has never been the fastest out of the gate," jockey Tyler Gaffalione said of Youalmosthadme, who broke from post 3 in the field of 12. "She seems to get better starts from outside posts, but today we were in a good spot.

“She traveled really well throughout, and at the top of the lane, we had a chance to get the winner, but the winner kicked away."

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Mystic Lake stopped the clock in 1:11.40 for six furlongs on the fast main track.

After Youalmosthadme, it was 1 1/4 lengths to Discreet Ops, who edged Cap Classique by a nose for third. The top four were followed, in order, by Lady Moscato, Belle's Blue Bell, Value Area, Carmelina, Launch, Miss Harriett, Closing Act, and Let Them Watch.

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