Stormy Embrace holds on to win Musical Romance Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Stormy Embrace became a stakes winner for the first time, and did so despite her rider Wilmer Garcia apparently misjudging the finish line, holding safe a stretch-long bid by Sweet Tooth Haven to register a half-length victory in Saturday’s $75,000 Musical Romance Stakes at a soggy Gulfstream Park.

Stormy Embrace, stakes placed on four previous occasions including a second-place finish in the Susan’s Girl Division of the Florida Sire Series here at 3, showed her speed from the outset under Garcia, stalking the early pace of tepid favorite R Angel Katelyn. Stormy Embrace edged clear approaching the quarter pole, was quickly engaged by Sweet Tooth Haven, withstood the challenge while trying to get out a bit through midstretch, then held sway with Garcia rising up in the irons in the vicinity of the auxiliary finish line just inside the sixteenth pole.

Sweet Tooth Haven turned in a huge effort in defeat making her first start since September 2017. The stakes-placed filly raced close up from the outset, drew abreast of the winner while widest into the stretch, but was not good enough while finishing 6 1/2 lengths in front of Yes I’ll Go. R Angel Katelyn checked in a tiring fourth as the 3-2 choice in a scratch-reduced field of six older fillies and mares.

Stormy Embrace is a 4-year-old homebred daughter of Circular Quay owned by Matalona Thoroughbreds. She currently races under the name of Brian Smeak, the trainer of record while her regular trainer Kathleen O’Connell serves out the remainder of a 14-day suspension for an acepromazine positive originally handed down last summer during the Monmouth Park meet.

Stormy Embrace completed seven furlongs over the sloppy track in 1:24.33 and paid $5.60.

“Everything went fine out of the gate, I had a lot of confidence in my filly, I just wanted to put her in the right spot,” said Garcia. “She really got into it when she got challenged. I knew coming to the wire we had it won, so I was just trying to make sure I kept her straight at the end.”