Up in Smoke rallies to victory in Game Face Stakes

Up in Smoke parlayed a turn-back in distance and a racetrack that favored her late-running style throughout the card into a 1 ½-length victory over even-money favorite Boerne in Saturday’s $75,000 Game Face for 3-year-old fillies.

Up in Smoke opened her career with three consecutive victories by a total of 11 ¾ lengths before suffering her first setback when finishing a distant fourth stretching to a mile and one-sixteenth in the Hollywood Wildcat on May 15. She wheeled back on just three weeks’ rest in the 6 ½-furlong Game Face.

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Up in Smoke dropped back early, as expected, while kept out in the better footing well off the rail by jockey Emisael Jaramillo, who was riding the daughter of The Big Beast for the first time in the Game Face. Up in Smoke commenced her bid while remaining well wide on the final turn, engaged Boerne from the extreme outside at the head of the lane, and gradually edged clear from midstretch to the wire.

Boerne, a winner of her last three starts by an average margin of five lengths, was making her stakes bow in the Game Face. She contested the early running with We Miss Susie, disposed of that rival racing in the two path midway on the turn, angled out looking for better footing while taken on by Up in Smoke at the head of the lane, and proved no match at the end. Addilyn also took advantage of the biased track, rallying down the center of the track to finish third, 1 ¼ lengths behind Boerne, as a 23-1 outsider.

Up in Smoke paid $10 as the second choice after completing the distance over a fast track in 1:16.22.