Pampered Princess wire to wire

MIAMI - The old adage of pace making the race was never more evident than at Calder on Saturday, when Pampered Princess was surprisingly allowed to control the $40,000 The Draw In Stakes from start to finish en route to a 6 1/2-length victory over 1-2 favorite D'Wildcat Speed.

In their previous meeting, D'Wildcat Speed took the race right to Pampered Princess from the outset before easily winning the Grade 2 Rampart Handicap this spring at Gulfstream Park. American Miss used similar front-running tactics when she upset Pampered Princess in handy fashion here earlier this summer in the Nancy's Glitter Handicap.

Despite the success of those tactics, the connections of both D'Wildcat Speed and American Miss opted to take back off the lead during the early stages of The Draw In, giving Pampered Princess all the edge she needed. Once making a clear lead, jockey Eddie Castro slowed the pace, then easily resisted a mild run from D'Wildcat Speed into the stretch before pulling away to Pampered Princess's fourth win in eight starts this season.

D'Wildcat Speed, making her first start since registering a six-length victory in the Rampart on March 26, was second, more than a dozen lengths clear of Appealing Pond. Leona's Knight was fourth, and American Miss had her three-race win streak end when finishing fifth and last.

Trained by Marty Wolfson for owner Martin Cherry, Pampered Princess completed 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.90 over a fast track and paid $6.20.

* The track had become sloppy by the time the field went off later in the afternoon for the $40,000 Ambehaving Stakes. That was good news for Whos Crying Now, who rallied from off a contested pace to defeat 11-1 Lawbook in the overnight stakes for older colts and geldings.

Whos Crying Now, who had also won his only other previous wet track start, paid $7.20 and gave Castro a sweep of the afternoon's stakes. A 5-year-old son of Concerto, Whos Crying Now is trained by Manny Tortora for the Lewis Family Stables Partnership Ltd.