Unbridled Mo upsets Unique Bella in Apple Blossom

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Unique Bella was asked to do a lot in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Friday, and in the end it caught up with her as she finished second to Unbridled Mo at odds of 1-5 before an estimated ontrack crowd of 18,500.

Unique Bella shipped out of California to race for the first time. She had to handle a wet track, and conceded from six to 11 pounds to her six rivals in the $700,000 race for fillies and mares.

In the end, all of the change appeared to be a little unsettling for Unique Bella. She was stubborn schooling at the starting gate and in the paddock Thursday. And although she handled the saddling ring professionally on race day, a poor start cost her dearly at the beginning of the 1 1/16-mile Apple Blossom.

Unique Bella was loaded into the gate first and became antsy as the rest of the field loaded. Jockey Mike Smith said she was unprepared when the gates opened.

“She was sitting down, squatting in the gate,” Smith said. “We were trying to get her to stand up and the next thing I know they opened and she just squatted back and completely missed it.”

Unique Bella sprinted up wide to take a stalking position off front-running Farrell, with Smith rating her to the best of his ability.

“After she got left, she just wanted to catch up,” Smith said. “I couldn’t do anything about it. I wish I could have stayed last. If I could I would have. She was very strong and very fresh.”

While Smith was trying to get Unique Bella to settle after her slow beginning, jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. was trying to work out his own trip aboard eventual winner Unbridled Mo.

Santana was in tight along the inside entering the first turn and momentarily had to check.

“I was a little scared on the first turn,” he said.

Unbridled Mo settled into fourth position as Unique Bella took the lead from Farrell midway on the backstretch, with Smith keeping her well out in the track in an attempt to calm her competitive juices.

Unique Bella opened a clear lead on the far turn and was about a length in front entering the stretch with Farrell still in contention along the inside and Streamline and Unbridled Mo three and four wide.

“At the three-eighths, I had a lot of horse but I wanted to wait until I turned for home because I didn’t want to move too soon,” Santana said.

Unique Bella fought off Streamline as Farrell dropped back but Unbridled Mo was moving best. She pulled away to score by 2 1/4 lengths over Unique Bella.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, understandingly disappointed after the race, simply said “no excuses.”

Fuhriously Kissed rallied up the inside to finish third, 2 1/2 lengths behind Unique Bella and a neck ahead of Streamline, who weakened late.

Unbridled Mo, a 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo trained by Todd Pletcher, came into the Apple Blossom a four-time stakes winner, with three Grade 3 wins around two turns – the Doubledogdare, Houston Ladies Classic, and the Monmouth Oaks. She will ship back to Pletcher’s Palm Beach Downs base in Florida a Grade 1 winner.

“We knew there was a very prohibitive favorite in the race but we thought it was worth taking a shot and felt we had everything to win and nothing to lose,” Pletcher said.

Unbridled Mo paid $11.60 as the third betting choice in the seven-horse field. She was timed in 1:43.94 over a sealed track listed as good. The early fractions cut out by Farrell and then Unique Bella were 23.41 seconds, 46.94, and 1:11.40. Unbridled Mo was in front through a mile in 1:37.35.

The Apple Blossom was Unbridled Mo’s second start of the year. She finished fourth in the one-mile Royal Delta, a one-turn race at Gulfstream Park in February. The winner of that race, Martini Glass, came back to win the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn. The Royal Delta runner-up, Lewis Bay, finished third, beaten a head, in a blanket finish last week in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland.

“She’s a very talented filly, truly a two-turn filly,” Pletcher said of Unbridled Mo. “But we had to get started somewhere so we ran her in the Gulfstream race to get her season started.

“After that, we had several different spots in mind, but the Apple Blossom was a Grade 1, and that made it very attractive.”

Pletcher said he and Richard Sacco, the racing manager for the Red Oak Stable of the Brunetti family did not have a particular next race in mind, but would discuss their options.

The Apple Blossom capped a huge weak for Santana, a native of Panama, who has wrapped up his sixth consecutive Oaklawn riding title. On Thursday, Santana won three races, including the Bachelor Stakes aboard the promising 3-year-old sprinter Mitole.

The Apple Blossom is the second richest win of Santana’s career. He won the $1 million Arkansas Derby in 2016 aboard Creator for trainer Steve Asmussen, who also trained Santana’s three Thursday winners.