Pretty N Cool edges clear late to win Matron

The belief that the West Coast-based 2-year-olds are superior to those on the East Coast received further validation Sunday at Belmont Park when Pretty N Cool recorded a one-length victory over Constellation in the Grade 2, $200,000 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park.

Pretty N Cool joins Exaggerator (Grade 2 Saratoga Special), Ralis (Grade 1 Hopeful), and Gomo (Grade 1 Alcibiades) as California-based 2-year-olds to win graded stakes out of town.

Pretty N Cool, trained by Bob Baffert, improved her record to 3 for 4 with her only loss coming to Songbird, who is likely to be the favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

After winning her first two starts and finishing second in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, Baffert thought about trying to stretch Pretty N Cool out in distance in the Alcibiades.

“I was training her to go long, but she wasn’t responding,” Baffert said.

The Matron, at six furlongs, proved a terrific alternative.

On Sunday, after bobbling at the break under Martin Garcia, Pretty N Cool sped to the lead and ran fractions of 22.39 seconds and 44.96 for the opening half-mile with Constellation pressing from the inside and Libreta to her outside.

Turning into the stretch, Pretty N Cool put away Libreta, but Constellation, under Irad Ortiz Jr., fought on before Pretty N Cool edged clear late.

Constellation finished second by a length over Tonasah, who was a length in front of Wave of Glory. Island Saint and Libreta complete the order of finish.

Pretty N Cool, a daughter of Scat Daddy owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitiman, covered six furlongs in 1:09.73 and returned $3.80 as the favorite.

“When I asked her to go, she took off, and she was a little [away from her] company, but in the end, she was playing around,” Garcia said.

Said Baffert: “She came into this race a lot better than she went into the Debutante. We’re going to have to fun with her. We’ll keep her one turn.”