Piven shows affinity for dirt in Limehouse Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Piven showed he might be even better on dirt than he was racing exclusively on the Polytrack during his 2-year-old campaign at Woodbine after rallying to a convincing four-length victory over Aequor and four other overmatched rivals in Saturday’s $75,000 Limehouse Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Piven benefitted from a perfectly judged ride by Eclipse Award candidate Jose Ortiz, rating kindly off the early pace set by Reed Kan and forced from the outset by Aequor. Piven angled to the outside while commencing his rally into the stretch, readily ran by the tiring Reed Kan leaving the furlong grounds before pulling away with complete authority at the end. Aequor could not match strides with the winner into the stretch, but continued on willingly enough to be second-best, finishing 1 1/2 lengths in front of Empire Power. Reed Kan, Dial One, and Interdiction rounded out the order of finish.

Piven, a son of Prospective, is trained by Kevin Attard for owner Derek Chin. He paid $4.20 after completing six furlongs in 1:11.47 seconds, .73 seconds faster than 3-year-old fillies covered the same distance an hour later in the Glitter Woman Stakes.

“I didn’t think he’d have trouble handling the dirt the way he worked here, but you never know because this track can be a little demanding and have a lot of kickback in the afternoon,” said Attard. “Right now, we’ll probably look to keep him sprinting since his one race around two turns wasn’t his best.”

Cicatrix shows new dimension in Glitter Woman

Cicatrix kept her record unblemished and proved she doesn’t necessarily need the lead to win when rallying from off the pace to a neck decision over 31-1 Morning Destiny in the $75,000 Glitter Woman.

Cicatrix, a daughter of Violence, led at every call before drawing away to a one-sided 7 1/4-length victory making her career debut this fall at Churchill Downs. On Saturday, Cicatrix showed her ability to rate when positioned several lengths off the early pace set by Luzmimi Princess in the six-furlong Glitter Woman. Cicatrix rallied under Julien Leparoux to wrest command from the weary leader at midstretch before holding safe a final surge by Morning Destiny. Foxtrot Sally rallied from last to finish third, with Elevenses, the tepid 5-2 favorite, a non-threatening sixth.

Cicatrix, trained by Ian Wilkes for owner Bill Witman, returned $8.00 and completed six furlongs in 1:12.20.

“She’s always shown talent, this filly,” said Wilkes. “The first time she ran we drew the two hole, she broke on top and landed on the lead. But I didn’t expect her to be there today. In fact, I thought she could have relaxed and dropped back more today, but Julien had to ask her a little bit the first part to keep her position.”

Wilkes said he hopes to stretch Cicatrix out a little farther in her next start while suggesting a mile might ultimately prove her optimum distance.