Stellar Path gets her act together to win Plenty of Grace

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - She didn’t put her best foot forward early, but Stellar Path certainly put several strong steps together late, winning her U.S. debut in Friday’s $95,000 Plenty of Grace Stakes at Aqueduct.

In her first start since last Sept. 28, Stellar Path overcame a bobble at the start. She sat third of four horses down the backside, before making a three-wide move under Luis Saez. Stellar Path collared Principessa Ava in midstretch, then held off her own stablemate Cushion to win by a half-length.

Cushion finished 3 3/4 lengths ahead of Principessa Ava with the pace-setting Tokyo Time finishing last. Streethomealabama scratched.

The first two runners were trained by Christophe Clement, whose assistant Christophe Lorieul said the instructions to his two riders were take a hold of their mounts early even if the pace was slow. Lorieul was worried that Stellar Path might be a little too fresh coming off the 6 1/2-month layoff.

Lorieul said he told Saez, “She’s a beautiful-moving filly, just keep her together, especially on that ground."

"It’s not soft, it’s good," Lorieul said. "Horses from Europe can be a little bit keen, a little bit fresh, but she was much the best.”

Stellar Path, a daughter of Astronomer who has now won six of 14 starts, covered the mile in 1:38.67 and returned $4.10.

Lorieul said the bobble at the break “might have been a blessing."

"She didn’t take off with him,” he said.

As far as Stellar Path is concerned, Lorieul said her best distance will probably be seven furlongs to a mile whereas Cushion probably wanted farther than the one mile of Friday’s race.

“I think today if it was a mile and an eighth, it might have been a different story,” Lorieul said.