Sacred Wish makes her preference clear in Winter Memories

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Sacred Wish had run well sprinting on dirt and going long on dirt, but the way she trained on turf left trainer George Weaver still unsure what the 3-year-old filly by Not This Time really wanted to do.

After making a smashing turf debut in Friday’s $135,000 Winter Memories Stakes at Aqueduct, it looks like grass will be Sacred Wish’s future.

Receiving a superb ground-saving trip under John Velazquez, Sacred Wish tipped into the three-path turning for home, and outfinished Silver Skillet to win the Winter Memories by 1 1/4 lengths. Silver Skillet finished second by a half-length over Soviet Excess, who was a head better than Liguria, the 3-1 favorite.

Lady Beth faded to fifth followed by Tax Implications, Junipermarshmallow, Sweetlou’sgotaces, Bolivie, and Get Your Kicks.

It was the just the second win from eight starts for Sacred Wish, though she finished second in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga and second in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks.

:: Get Belmont at the Big A Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.

Sacred Wish had shown signs of liking the turf when she fired a bullet work at Belmont Park in July. But her performance in the Coaching Club forced her connections to try the Alabama where she finished a well-beaten seventh. It was reminiscent of her well-beaten ninth-place finish in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan in May.

Weaver, who watched the race from Saratoga, said he could tell the way Sacred Wish was traveling early on that she was enjoying the turf.

“She relaxed, she was always in Johnny’s hands, at no point did you think she was going to do what she did in the Alabama or Pimlico where she just got flustered and spit it,” Weaver said. “At least it opens up some options. I told [part-owner] Jake Ballis I really wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.”

Sacred Wish saved all the ground while racing about four lengths off the pacesetting Lady Beth, who, under Flavien Prat, set fractions of 23.47 seconds for the quarter and 48.04 seconds for the half, pursued by Silver Skillet.

When Velazquez got Sacred Wish off the fence, she gradually gained on the top two, corralling both at the sixteenth pole and edging clear for the victory.

“She broke well and got behind the leaders in there,” Velazquez said. “I bided my time and followed [Silver Skillet], who I felt was one of the horses to beat. She gave me a great trip.”

:: Bet with the Best! Get Free DRF PPs and Cashback when you wager. Join DRF Bets.

Sacred Wish, owned by Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, and Christopher Dunn, covered the mile in 1:35.46 and returned $11.80 as the third choice.

With her future likely on turf, a race like the Grade 2, $200,000 Sands Point for 3-year-old fillies on Oct. 14 might be next for Sacred Wish.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.