Natural Wonder ($32.60) takes Satin and Lace with near-record time

Natural Wonder, sent away among the longest shots in the field, wore down pace-setting favorite Pretty Perfection to win the $100,000 Satin and Lace Stakes on Sunday night at Presque Isle Downs.

Natural Wonder ($32.60) was outrun in the early going of the 5 1/2-furlong sprint for fillies and mares and was ninth of 11 after Pretty Perfection's opening quarter of 21.65 seconds. The latter, a multiple stakes winner this year, clicked off the half in 44.08, and continued to widen her advantage, leading by two lengths in the stretch. But Natural Wonder, who had advanced to fifth by that point, responded willingly when set down by Luis Garcia, reeling in the leader to prevail by half a length in the final strides.

The final time on the all-weather track was 1:02.85, just 0.75 off the track mark of 1:02.10 established by Sharp Sensation in 2014.

After the top two, it was 1 1/2 lengths back to second choice Miss Gossip, who came six wide and closed to nip Marquee Miss by a nose for third.

This was the first stakes victory for Natural Wonder, a Copper Cap Farm homebred trained by Sally Schu. The Summer Bird mare, now 4 for 10 lifetime, had finished second in the Spring Fever Stakes in March at Oaklawn Park, beaten three-quarters of a length by Kathballu.