Stonewall Star likes outside draw, takes Biogio's Rose
?q=100)
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A return to statebred company, an outside draw and an equipment change all combined to return Stonewall Star to the winner's circle at Aqueduct on Sunday in the Biogio's Rose.
After pressing the pace of Security Code from the outside, Stonewall Star poked her head in front at the five-sixteenths pole, put Security Code away in midstretch, then kept Bustin Bay at bay to the wire to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
Bustin Bay finished second by 2 1/2 lengths over Venti Valentine, the 6-5 favorite. Security Code finished fourth, followed by Sweetest Princess. Sweet Mystery, Lady Mine and Bon Adieu were all scratched. Sweet Mystery and Bon Adieu are entered in an allowance here Thursday.
The win was the fifth from 12 starts for Stonewall Star, a 4-year-old daughter of Flatter owned and bred by Barry Schwartz and trained by Horacio De Paz. Stonewall Star won four of her first seven starts, including the Key Cents and Franklin Square for New York-breds and the Gin Talking Stakes, an open race by 11 lengths in December 2022. Following a third in the Grade 2 Beaumont last April, Stonewall Star was given a break. She was beaten three times in the second-level allowance ranks.
:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.
De Paz took the blinkers off Stonewall Star in a recent workout and he liked how strong she galloped out afterward, so he removed them for the race, which was at a mile, the farthest she'd ever run.
"I was looking for some kind of change," De Paz said. "Stretching out makes the pace a little bit easier, so I thought it would be a good idea to take them off. Isaac rode a great race, just controlled, and let her be where she was comfortable and not rushed her," De Paz said.
De Paz said having the outside post was "tremendous. I've been drawing the inside a lot lately."
Stonewall Star covered the mile in 1:36.51 and returned $11.60 to win.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.