Piedi Bianchi prevails in blanket Correction finish

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While his Grade 1-winning female sprinter Come Dancing gears up for a return to the races later this year, trainer Carlos Martin had a suitable back-up to help him win Saturday’s $100,000 Correction Stakes at Aqueduct.

Piedi Bianchi, who was fifth and wide down the backside and into the stretch, persevered to the wire under Jorge Vargas Jr. to win a blanket finish by a head over Slimey, who got second by a head over Kept True. It was another neck back to Bridlewood Cat, who finished fourth after stumbling at the break and having to rally from well off the pace.

Sea Sparkle was fifth followed by Nisha and I’mnotshyi’llbuy.

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The win was the fourth from 14 starts for Piedi Bianchi, a 5-year-old daughter of Overanalyze owned by Jay Oringer, Jack Bick and Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables. She is 2 for 2 since being moved into Martin’s barn.

“It’s great to win a stake with another filly and have Come Dancing coming back, so hopefully this spring will be an exciting time for all of us,” Martin said.

With four horses lining up in front of Piedi Bianchi around the far turn, Martin thought his mare was going to have an easy time of it in the stretch. But Kept True, the 7-5 favorite, took over in midstretch and looked like she might be about to win her second straight stakes.

But Piedi Bianchi, responding to Vargas’s left-handed whip, kept coming and when confronted by Slimey to her inside, and Bridlewood Cat to her outside, Piedi Bianchi continued to dig in and got up late.

Piedi Bianchi covered the six furlongs in 1:13.51 and returned $8.10 as the third choice.

“This filly, I’ve been working her for the last two weeks and she’s been doing amazing,” Vargas said. “I was just hoping she didn’t bounce from the last race. She run kind of hard last time. I was hoping for an effort like that and she gave it to me.”

Martin said Vargas told him Piedi Bianchi – twice Grade 1 placed as a 2-year-old in 2017 – may appreciate stretching out so a race like the Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian going a mile at Belmont on May 3 could be on her radar.

Martin won the Ruffian last year with Come Dancing, who would go on to win the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga last summer. Initially intended to be retired at the end of last year, Come Dancing remained in training and on Saturday, she worked three furlongs in 37.20 seconds at Ocala Stud in Florida, according to Martin.

“We’ll work her again next weekend and make some plans to move her on from Ocala,” Martin said.