Shelzawa flashes powerful turn of foot in Winter Memories victory
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Shelzawa unleashed a powerful last-to-first move under jockey Flavien Prat to pick up her first stakes victory in the Grade 3 Winter Memories on Thursday at Belmont Park. The 3-year-old filly has now won three straight races for trainer Chad Brown.
“Great effort,” Brown said, per the New York Racing Associarion. “I could see she was saving a lot of ground at the back, unimpeded, which was great, but the pace was a little soft and I was concerned that she wouldn’t have enough pace in front of her to get there, but Flavien rode a great race, a little inside-out trip there. He slipped inside [Hand Over Heart] and then got to the clear, which was the winning move, and she really came through.”
With a $236 difference in the win pool, Shelzawa went off as the slightest 2-1 favorite over Sister Troienne, who finished second by three-quarters of a length for trainer Brian Lynch. The Brown trainee paid $6.80 to win.
In two starts in France to begin her career earlier this year, Shelzawa came up just short of her maiden victory in back-to-back photo-finish defeats. She has found the winner’s circle much easier in the United States, winning 2 of 3 starts during her summer stint at Saratoga before breaking through in Grade 3 company on Thursday.
“She’s still underdeveloped physically,” Brown said. “I can see she’s coming into her fall coat a little bit. I was a little bit concerned coming into the race this week, she’s starting to lose her coat a little bit and she still ran through it.”
Prat, who has ridden her in all four of her stateside races, was unhurried in the early going of the mile turf race at Belmont, settling into last in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies on the backstretch. Alone Time, the 48-1 pacesetter, completed the opening quarter-mile in 24.46 seconds and quickened through a half-mile in 47.34.
Early in the race, all three of Brown’s fillies were clustered near the back of the field. Hand Over Heart never fired and finished last, leaving Shelzawa and Crossover Capital, ridden by Manny Franco, to get the job done from ninth and 10th.
With decisive urging from Prat, Shelzawa made a slightly earlier move than her stablemates, steadily making up places on the backstretch to get into striking position on the far turn. By the time the field hit the top of the stretch, she was in third and flying down the center.
“The pace was okay, it’s wasn’t super slow, but it [sure] didn’t give me an advantage,” Prat said. “She traveled well and when I tipped her out, she gave me a good run. She showed a great turn-of-foot.”
Sister Troienne, a three-time stakes winner still looking for her first graded score, received a patient ride from Junior Alvarado and closed fast from eighth, but she could not outkick the winner. Shelzawa completed the mile on a firm turf course in 1:34.86.
She finished second by a length over Crossover Capital, the 11-1 Brown-trained outsider who came flying from the rear with a belated move for third.
Brown and owner Michael Dubb said the Winter Memories may be Shelzawa’s last start this year, but the Grade 3 Pebbles at Belmont is still a possibility next month.
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