Storied Lady captures Biogio's Rose by a head

In a result that came down to trips, Storied Lady got the better one and outfinished the wide-traveling, but hard-charging Saythreehailmary’s to win Sunday’s $100,000 Biogio’s Rose Stakes by a short head at Aqueduct.

Cutting the order turning for home under Irad Ortiz Jr., Storied Lady snuck through an opening on the inside of pace-setting Perfect Freud while Saythreehailmary’s, who was four wide entering the far turn under Manny Franco, went three-wide into the stretch and just came up short at the wire. It was five lengths back to Perfect Freud in third. Jc’s Shooting Star, In Spite of Mama and Sheriffa completed the order of finish.

The win was the fifth from 24 career starts for Storied Lady, a 5-year-old daughter of Read the Footnotes owned and bred by Charles Goldberg’s Tri-County Stables and trained by John Hertler. It was her first win since taking the Bay Ridge Stakes on Dec. 31, 2014. She was coming off a third to Saythreehailmary’s in the Bay Ridge last December and a second to Perfect Freud in an allowance race last month.

“She was running good races and finishing right there and today everything came together,” Hertler said. “She got through on the rail and battled that horse hard and held them off. I was looking for that wire.”

Storied Lady, the 115-pound low weight, was last in the early stages of the Biogio’s Rose. She was kept in the two to three path down the backside while Saythreehailmary’s, who was carrying 121 pounds, was three to fourwide down the backside.

Perfect Freud set the pace under Junior Alvarado – subbing for Kendrick Carmouche who took off his Sunday mounts due to a family matter – running a quarter in 23.58 seconds and a half-mile in 48.20.

Turning for home, Perfect Freud drifted off the rail and Ortiz was able to pounce, slipping Storied Lady through that opening just outside the eighth pole. Saythreehailmary’s came up three wide around Perfect Freud and joined up alongside Storied Lady inside the sixteenth pole, but Storied Lady prevailed.

“I was able to get her to relax,” Ortiz said. “I got through on the inside and she closed well.”

Storied Lady covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.64 and returned $10.20 as the fourth betting choice.