Uni takes Plenty of Grace in course-record time

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Last year, Uni was a slow starter from the gate, a habit that her jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr., believes cost her in a couple of races.

Saturday, in her 4-year-old debut at Aqueduct, Uni broke alertly and put herself in a good early position, which made her typical strong late kick effective enough to win the $100,000 Plenty of Grace Stakes by one length over stablemate Fifty Five. It was a neck back to the pace-setting Stallion Heiress in third. My Impression and Not Taken completed the order of finish.

Uni and Fifty Five are both trained by Chad Brown, who won his fourth turf race here this week with a horse coming off an extended layoff. Uni, unraced since last October, also became the third Brown-trained horse to establish an outer turf-course record, running a mile in 1:33.42 over the firm turf. She returned $3.80 to win as the 4-5 favorite, and earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

Not bad for a horse who Brown had originally earmarked for an allowance race later this week and entered after he was informed the race only had four other entrants.

Uni, who began her career in France, went 1 for 4 in graded stakes in the U.S. last year, winning the Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont after a third in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks and second in the Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga. She completed her season with a fourth in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Keeneland.

The Plenty of Grace offered class relief and her quick break had Uni sitting third, about two lengths behind Stallion Heiress, who ran a quarter in 24.40 seconds and a half-mile in 47.92

Uni was cruising in hand under Ortiz, who tipped her outside and in the clear turning for home. Ortiz waited until just above the eighth pole to ask Uni for run and she matter-of-factly went by Stallion Heiress while outfinishing Fifty Five.

“Last year she was breaking slow and probably that cost her two races; she’d come from way back finished third, beaten two lengths,” Ortiz said. “Today, she broke so good that surprised me. She was fresh off a layoff, she broke running and that helped me a lot. She put me right there in behind the speed, perfect position where I wanted to be.”

Whit Beckman, Brown’s assistant, was equally as pleased with the effort of Fifty Five, who was making her first start since winning the Ticonderoga for New York-breds last Oct. 21. Last early, she came with her typical late run, edging out Stallion Heiress for the place.

“I thought Junior [Alvarado] gave her a beautiful ride coming up the rail,” Beckman said. “I was happy with both of them coming off a layoff.”