Tesora wins Christiecat Stakes going away

Trainer Jonathan Thomas won the biggest race of the Saratoga meeting, the Travers, with Catholic Boy, and on Friday captured the biggest race of opening day at the Belmont Park fall meeting when Tesora whizzed past six horses in the final furlong and won the $100,000 Christiecat Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths.

Okay, so Tesora is no Catholic Boy and the quiet Friday feature was no Grade 1, but Thomas continues spreading his wings during just his second year with more than a handful of starters. His 21 winners on the season already has equalled his 2017 total and the Christiecat was his fifth stakes win of 2018.

Tesora ($11.80) won a maiden turf sprint at Gulfstream and a first-level turf-route allowance at Del Mar in her two starts last year at 2. By Scat Daddy and out of the In Excess mare Romance Is Roman, Tesora is bred along the lines of a route horse and Thomas started her 3-year-old campaign June 20 in the 1 1/16-mile Christiana Stakes at Delaware Park. Tesora finished a flat fifth there and Thomas cut her back to five furlongs for the 100,000 Coronation Cup at Saratoga, where Tesora settled and came with a nice run off a slow half-mile split to finish a close fourth.

Friday, Tesora confirmed her desire to operate as a one-run sprinter. She sat seventh, well off the lead under Javier Castellano as Mominou was sent to the front and ran a quarter-mile in 21.98 seconds. Broadway Run tracked the leader from second, and Factorofwon made a wide move on the backstretch to get into contention as 9-5 favorite Miz Mayhem got the shuffle behind them on the rail.

None of that early maneuvering would matter in the end. Mominou threw in the towel after a half-mile in 45.55 and the race was on ever so briefly between Broadway Run and Factorofwon. Tesora still was seventh at the eighth pole but Castellano had stoked her up and her move was powerful. She passed all but Broadway Run in a matter of strides and then inhaled her too, winning going away.

Tesora stopped the timer in 1:11.69 for six furlongs on turf rated good, with Broadway Run holding second by a head over a surging Closer Still. Miz Mayhem played no part, checking in eighth of nine. Lezendary was scratched as a main-track-only entrant and Streetlady was a trainer scratch.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners paid $130,000 for Tesora at the Keeneland 2016 September yearling sale and owns the filly in partnership with TNIP Racing. They appear to have a rising 3-year-old filly who resides in the barn of a rising trainer.