Saez guides Giacosa to nose victory in Mount Vernon Stakes
ELMONT, N.Y. - When he last rode Giacosa in the Forever Together Stakes at Aqueduct in November, Luis Saez felt he might have made the lead too early in a race where she was beaten a neck by Flower Point.
“That’s her, she’s got a little run,” Saez said. “If you use it a little early, she’s going to hang in the end.”
Monday, Saez timed Giacosa’s run just right as she was able to catch Classic Lady in the final jump to win the $125,000 Mount Vernon Stakes by a nose. Classic Lady, who made all the pace under Joel Rosario, finished second by 1 1/2 lengths over She’s the One, as trainer Christophe Clement runners finished second and third in the race. Silky Blue was fourth, followed by favored Runaway Rumour and Pop the Bubbly.
Giacosa won for the fifth time in 14 starts, adding the Mount Vernon to the Yaddo Stakes she won last summer at Saratoga.
The Mount Vernon was for New York-bred fillies and mares going a mile on turf.
Giacosa, a 5-year-old daughter of Tizway owned by Bond Racing and trained by James Bond, hadn’t run since the Forever Together. Saez said he was cognizant of that as well as the mare’s short burst of speed, so he tried to conserve her until the end.
Giacosa was only four lengths off the pace-setting Classic Lady, who set fractions of 23.14 seconds for the quarter, 47.14 for the half and 1:11.13 for six furlongs. Saez moved her outside for the stretch drive and Giacosa was able to outfinish Classic Lady late.
“We know she has a good turn of foot, the only worry was the time she was off,” Saez said. “We just break and take a little hold, be patient, and when we came to the top of the stretch she just gave me that little move and we just keep pedaling and we got there.”
Giacosa covered the mile in 1:34.05 and returned $14 as the fourth choice.
Classic Lady finished third to Giacosa in the Yaddo last year and then beat her in the Ticonderoga here in the fall. Monday, Classic Lady found herself loose on the lead under Rosario until the very end.
“She pulled me up to the lead but was going easy,” Rosario said. “I thought we were home turning for home, but that filly came strong at the end.”