Streaking Civil Union holds off My Sister Nat in Flower Bowl

ELMONT, N.Y. - There was a change of tactics, but the same result for Civil Union, who rallied from next-to-last to win the Grade 1, $250,000 Flower Bowl Stakes by a head over My Sister Nat at Belmont Park on Saturday.

The victory was the fourth straight for Civil Union, who didn’t clear her first-level allowance condition until June 21. She has since followed that with a listed stakes victory, the Grade 2 Glens Falls, and now the Flower Bowl.

“When she started off this winter in Florida I never thought she’d be a Grade 1 winner,” trainer Shug McGaughey said.

McGaughey made that statement even though he liked Civil Union’s first race for him, a third in a 1 3/16-miles allowance at Gulfstream. He brought her up to Belmont Park this spring and she seemed to flourish with the wider course and added distance of her races.

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Civil Union had shown a stalking style, typically racing within three lengths of the lead, in her three previous races.

On Saturday, Joel Rosario had Civil Union in sixth position, about six lengths off the moderate pace set by Lovely Lucky and attended to by Cambier Parc.

“She was really comfortable where I was, just try to let her sit a little bit,” Rosario said. “I know we have a mile and a quarter.”

The key to victory may have been Rosario’s patience as he kept Civil Union inside and, turning for home, had to go only three-wide in the stretch. Jose Ortiz, meanwhile, aboard My Sister Nat, made a five-wide move approaching the top of the lane.

Civil Union had less ground to cover, got the jump on My Sister Nat, and was able to hold her off.

Civil Union, a 5-year-old daughter of War Front owned and bred by Joe Allen, covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.28 and returned $8.10 as the third choice.

“I didn’t know when she was back like that exactly what was going to happen,” McGaughey said. “I mean, they weren’t flying in front, but I always sort of like one to have a target. He got to save the ground and come through and it worked out great.”

Civil Union earned a fees-paid berth into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. McGaughey said he would monitor the filly’s condition and discuss options with Allen.

“If she’s doing as well as she was doing all summer and up to this race, it’s probably worth giving it a whirl,” McGaughey said.

Jose Ortiz said he was following his brother, who was riding Nay Lady Nay. When that horse wasn’t going on at the head of the lane, that’s when Ortiz chose to go widest of all.

“There was room for one horse and that was [Civil Union],” Ortiz said. “He was in front of me going to the quarter pole so I couldn’t go behind him because there was going to be room for him only. He got a good trip, he never got bothered.”

My Sister Nat finished three-quarters of a length in front of Nay Lady Nay, who was 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Cambier Parc as trainer Chad Brown, a six-time Flower Bowl winner, ran second, third, and fourth. Brown said the distance may have proven too far for those two.

My Sister Nat, Brown said, “it’s as short as she wants to run. Tough beat. That filly got the jump on her.”