The 'other' O'Connell gallops in Golden Isles
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- On the tote board, Lenzi’s Lucky Lady was the lesser regarded of the two juvenile fillies trainer Kathleen O’Connell sent postward along with Solid as a Rock for Stonehedge LLC in Friday’s $75,000 Golden Isles Stakes at Gulfstream Park. But on the racetrack, the homebred was not only the better of the pair, she was easily best of the field when pulling away to a convincing 5 ¼-length victory over Raven in the first 2-year-old stakes of the local season.
Both Lenzi’s Lucky Lady and Solid as a Rock entered the 5 1/2-furlong Golden Isle having won their only previous start. But despite the fact Lenzi’s Lucky Lady earned the higher Beyer Speed Figure of the pair in her debut, a 65, she was sent off the 7-2 second choice behind her stablemate, who left the gate a solid 6-5 favorite.
Solid as a Rock hesitated at bit at the start before rushing forward to contest the early pace with Sonar while jockey Jaime Rendon was content to let Lenzi’s Lucky Lady draft in behind the early leaders. Lenzi’s Lucky Lady moved three wide to challenge for command into the stretch before asserting her superiority and pulling away readily through the final furlong.
Raven, a game, pace-dueling winner racing under a $25,000 claiming tag in her debut, showed a new dimension on Friday when rallying down the center of the course to best Bahamian Girl by a neck for second money while never threatening the winner. Solid as a Rock finished a tiring fourth.
Lenzi’s Lucky Lady, a homebred daughter of With Distinction, completed the distance in 1:07.70 over a track downgraded from fast to sloppy following a heavy rain shower earlier in the day. She paid $9.
“She’s got a lot of promise, sat a perfect trip and came running at the end,” O’Connell said of the winner. “As for Solid as a Rock, she was kind of leaning back right as they broke, then she kind of did a half hop. Edgard did a good job getting her out but then he kind of used her to get position. It’s hard to run every step of the way.”