Randomized runs away with Beldame, will likely start in Breeders' Cup Distaff
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Randomized parlayed her class and speed to an easy 3 3/4-length victory in Sunday’s Grade 2, $232,500 Beldame Stakes at Aqueduct, likely setting her up for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in four weeks.
Randomized, coming off her front-running upset in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga six weeks ago, was sent to the front Sunday by Joel Rosario, then relaxed to set modest fractions of 25.02 seconds for the quarter, 49.18 for the half and 1:12.72 for six furlongs. She was given a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.
Riding Pretty, under Jairo Rendon, made a run at Randomized from the outside and A Mo Reay, under Flavien Prat, tried to run at her from the inside, but Randomized was too much horse as she strode away in the final furlong for the handy score.
“She looked like she was going easy, she has so much speed, but she has a nice stride and she kept moving forward,” Rosario said. “Hard to say how good she is, but she looked very good.”
Though she won the Alabama on the front end, Randomized showed trainer Chad Brown some maturity Sunday in the way she came back to Rosario early in the Beldame.
“She’s always been pretty cooperative, but she’s really switching off and relaxing well and obeying all the commands of the rider,” Brown said. “She’s just terrific right now as she continues to gain experience. I’m really proud of her development. She’s a really exciting horse.”
Randomized ($2.60) is likely to join Search Results in the Distaff for Brown and owner Seth Klarman. Search Results will enter the Distaff off a 3 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Locust Grove Stakes at Churchill Downs on Sept. 16.
“I got to give Seth a lot of credit, he was the one who really pushed to separate them and ship Search Results - which I’m a little leery of doing a long-distance round-trip van ride before the Breeders’ Cup - but it was the right strategy,” Brown said. “They both got the preps they needed.”
Gerrymander gallops in Noble Damsel
Gerrymander gave Brown and Klarman another stakes when Gerrymander won the off-the-turf, $112,500 Nobel Damsel Stakes by 25 lengths in what scratched down to a match race.
With Saturday’s rains forcing all three of Sunday’s scheduled turf races to the main track, the Noble Damsel - a one-mile turf race twice postponed due to weather-related cancellations - became a one-mile dirt race. Seven of the nine runners scratched.
After dueling with Sunset Louise through an opening half-mile in 44.93 seconds, Gerrymander, under Jose Ortiz, began to edge clear around the far turn and galloped home an easy winner.
Gerrymander, a daughter of Into Mischief, covered the mile in 1:36.46 and returned $2.60 to win. She was given an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.
“It was a horse race and my horse was much better than the other one,” Ortiz said. “We both broke clean, we stayed pretty much together the whole race until the three-eighths and my filly was much the best and drew away from the other one.”
Gerrymander improved her record to 4 for 14. At 3, she won the Grade 2 Mother Goose.
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