Whitebeam takes Gallorette in second North American start
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BALTIMORE – In her North American debut, Aqueduct’s Plenty of Grace Stakes on April 16, Whitebeam was held up behind a glacial pace, rallied in the stretch, but couldn’t overcome a tactical disadvantage against the pacesetting winner.
It was a different story on Saturday at Pimlico as Whitebeam broke sharp from the rail under Irad Ortiz Jr, settled into a pocket position while close to the pace, then finished strongly to best Sopran Basilea by 2 1/2 lengths in the Grade 3, $100,000 Gallorette Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles at Pimlico.
Bipartisanship raced another neck behind in third. She was followed by Princess Theorem, Vergara, Traffic Song, and Eminent Victor. Whitebeam completed the distance in 1:41.67 seconds over the firm turf (94 Beyer Speed Figure) and returned $3.60 to win as the betting favorite.
“I was actually surprised she got beat the first time in the country,” said trainer Chad Brown. “She got a little bit of a tough trip that day, but she worked it out today and showed her stuff.”
Brown noted that Whitebeam pulls a bit in the mornings, so he gave Ortiz the option of going to the lead. That plan was thwarted when Traffic Song and Vergara slowly pushed past Whitebeam entering the backstretch to set fractions of 23.62, 48.68, and 1:12.93 seconds.
Whitebeam was held up briefly behind horses, then split rivals with her strong kick in upper stretch.
“It was a bit of a nightmare for a little while, but Irad was able to extract her,” Brown said. “When you have enough horse under you, oftentimes you can get out.”
Trainer Graham Motion was surely pleased with Sopran Basilea’s North American debut, following a near seven-month layoff. Motion had entered the mare several times, but was frustrated by track cancellations, and races being forced off the turf. Held up in last early in the Gallorette, she kicked on well in the final three-sixteenths. Motion believes she’ll improve at longer distances.
Whitebeam is a 4-year-old homebred by Caravaggio owned by Juddmonte Farms. Foaled in Great Britain, she captured two of five starts in England and France before being transferred to Brown during the winter.
Brown mentioned that he believes Whitebeam “has a Grade 1 with her name on it if she stays healthy.”
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