Snow Face Princess, in quick return, notches upset in Bolton Landing
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Snow Face Princess has come a long way in a short time. She notched her second victory in 18 days and became a stakes winner in the process after rallying to upset odds-on favorite Cy Fair on Sunday at Saratoga in the $150,000 Bolton Landing.
Snow Face Princess’s sudden success has come with a switch to grass and the addition of blinkers. The combination led to a popular two-length maiden special weight victory here on July 30 in a performance promising enough to convince trainer Todd Pletcher to wheel the daughter of Midshipman back against stakes company on less than three weeks' rest.
With Flavien Prat aboard, Snow Face Princess ducked in a bit at the break before settling into a nice striking position just three lengths off a contested early pace. She did not appear to be making much progress when first roused by Prat on settling into the stretch, and swapped leads a couple of times through midstretch before closing with a rush out near the center of the course to wear down the leader in the final strides.
Cy Fair forced the issue from the outset, overtook the pacesetting My Sweetheart in early stretch, edged clear, but could not resist the winner’s final surge. My Sweetheart finished another two lengths farther back in third. Sacred Goddess and Bramble Blast rounded out the order of finish in a field that scratched down from eight to just five starters the morning of the race.
Snow Face Princess is trained by Pletcher for owner Gary Lewin. She returned $15.40 after covering 5 1/2 furlongs over a firm strip in 1:02.61 seconds.
“We felt like she was doing really well, her condition was great, her coat looked awesome and with these turf sprinters you really have to take the options when they are available,” Pletcher said. “We knew we were stepping up against some fast fillies, but we thought she could sit a nice stalking trip. I thought she was in a really nice spot. Then inside the eighth pole it looked like she still had too much to do. I wasn’t sure she was going to be able to get there, then she really got going in the last hundred yards.”
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