Purr Sea notches second straight with Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante
The Illinois foal crop, for lack of a healthy racing program in the state, has dropped precipitously the last decade. But S D Brilie, the breeding and racing operation of Steve and Diane Holland, persists. One of their younger mares, 10-year-old Kitty’s Castle, by Illinois-bred Cashel Castle, got a stakes-placed filly named Cat Attack with her first foal to race during 2020, and her second, the Midshipman filly Purr Sea, has done even better during 2021.
Third in the Arlington-Washington Lassie following a sharp debut win, Purr Sea won the Showtime Deb Stakes for Illinois-bred 2-year-old fillies last month at Hawthorne and on Saturday she added the $61,450 Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante to her resume.
Oeuvre, second to Purr Sea in the Showtime Deb, took the fight to odds-on favorite Purr Sea down the backstretch of this 6 1/2-furlong dirt sprint. Jockey Edgar Perez, riding Purr Sea, backed his filly off the lead, came outside Oeuvre around the turn, pushed to the lead in upper stretch, and Purr Sea held to the wire, coming home a 1 1/4-length winner.
Off a half-mile split of 46.12, Purr Sea, who paid just $2.80 to win, was timed in 1:20.43 over a fast track. Ghaaleb’s Ranger, third in the Sun Power, rallied mildly to finish third again in the Whitworth, finishing 2 1/2-lengths behind Oeuvre.
The Hollands used to keep their horses with trainer Christine Janks, but since Janks’s retirement to her Florida farm, Michele Boyce has been their trainer, and it was she who sent Purr Sea out to victory Saturday.