Tequilita gets second graded stakes win of year in Charles Town Oaks

Tequilita split horses about 300 yards from the finish and drew away through the short Charles Town homestretch to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Charles Town Oaks by 1 1/4 lengths on Saturday night at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.

Yorkiepoo Princess, a 75-1 shot, was moved early into a strong pace but still managed to finish second, a head in front of Overture, who rallied up the rail. Overture had a nose on Berned, who came charging down the middle of the track but ran out of ground in the seven-furlong Charles Town Oaks.

Berned had been 13 lengths behind the leader with three furlongs to run, while Overture had only a length on her at that point, and their position at the finish showed just how taxing the early pace had been.

Tequilita stuck considerably closer to the front than Overture and Berned while going comfortably along the rail in sixth place around the first turn and onto the backstretch. Astrollinthepark led through a first quarter-mile in a fast 22.84 seconds, but the race got a little messy when Yorkiepoo Princess came four wide for the lead midway down the backstretch.

Tequilita and jockey Luis Saez briefly were shuffled back, forcing Saez to vacate his spot along the rail and make a two-wide run around the far turn. Moving well, Tequilita split Astrollinthepark and Shimmering Aspen midway around the turn, collared Yorkiepoo Princess at the top of the stretch, and went on to a solid victory.

Tequilita ran seven furlongs on fast track in 1:26.01 and paid $7.60 to win. The $2 exacta with Yorkiepoo Princess returned $476.20.

Sine Wave, Stay Fond, Stormy Embrace, and Who’s the Lady all were scratched. Yorkiepoo Princess and Shimmering Aspen, who finished sixth as the 13-10 favorite, both drew in from the also-eligible list because of the scratches. Chanel's Legacy was pulled up just strides into the race with what appeared to be a right-hind-leg injury. According to the official race chart, Chanel's Legacy "was vanned off in obvious distress."

Tequilita was bred and is owned by Dorothy Matz and is trained by Michael Matz. The 3-year-old Union Rags filly is out of Sangrita, by Mr. Greeley, and won her second graded stakes of 2017, having captured the Grade 2 Forward Gal on Feb. 4 at Gulfstream Park. Tequilita’s record stands at 4-3-1 from 10 starts, and she appears to have a special fondness for seven furlongs, a distance at which she has gone 3-2-1- in four races.

• Lake Pontchartrain, a 14-1 shot, sustained a strong early move for more than three furlongs and won the $50,000 Pink Ribbon, the only other non-restricted stakes Saturday at Charles Town, by 1 1/4 lengths over odds-on favorite Kathballu.