Street Story comes back from layoff to win Victory Ride Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – A day after trainer Steve Asmussen brought back Untapable off an eight-week layoff to win the Grade 1 Mother Goose, Street Story returned from an 11-week freshening to take the Grade 3 Victory Ride Stakes for Asmussen on Sunday.

Street Story defeated six other sprinting 3-year-old fillies in the 6 1/2-furlong $150,000 Victory Ride. She benefited from a nice pace setup by racing well off blazing fractions set by free-running Red Velvet.

Red Velvet easily out-sprinted her pace rivals to open a clear lead. She set fractions of 21.48 seconds and 44.39 before being overtaken by Miss Behaviour, who had raced within striking distance throughout. Miss Behaviour opened a clear lead in mid-stretch, completed six furlongs in 1:10.22, but could not keep pace with the winner, who won by 1 3/4 lengths while being timed in 1:17.08.

Milam, who trailed early, finished willingly in third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Miss Behaviour. Red Velvet, the 8-5 favorite, was fourth, a nose behind Milam.
Street Story paid $22.20 to win as the fifth choice in the field and combined with Miss Behaviour for a $2 exacta worth $107.50.

Street Story won two $100,000 stakes this winter and spring at the Oaklawn Park meeting while racing five times between mid-December and mid-April. After the Oaklawn meet, Asmussen decided to freshen Street Story and sent her to his Belmont Park-based assistant, Toby Sheets.

"We freshened her up and put three little breezes into her," Sheets said following the Victory Ride. "She likes it here, and the pace was super for her today."

Sheets, 45, has worked for Asmussen for 15 years after training on his own for 10 years. He declined to discuss future plans for Street Story, but the upcoming Saratoga stakes for the division are the Grade 1 Test at seven furlongs Aug. 2 and the Grade 2 Prioress at six furlongs Aug. 30.