Wonder Lady Anne L upsets Demoiselle
Wonder Lady Anne L, third as the favorite in the Tempted Stakes last month, bounced back to win Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 as the longest shot on the board.
Under Cornelio Velasquez, Wonder Lady Anne L stalked a slow pace from fourth position in the five-horse field. She launched her bid leaving the half-mile pole and outkicked Cinderella's Dream in the stretch to win by 2 3/4 lengths.
The Pletcher-trained trio of Cinderella's Dream, Wait a While, and Love Locket finished second, third, and fourth. Better Now, the Tempted winner, finished last as the 9-5 favorite.
"I'm hoping it's two turns," winning trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said when asked
the difference between the Tempted and Demoiselle. "I was disappointed with her last race. I thought she was going to win that race last time out. I don't understand why she didn't. She trained really, really good, but she trained really good for her last race."
Wonder Lady Anne L, a daughter of Real Quiet, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.85 on the fast track and returned $23 to win.
Dutrow, who won this race last year with Sis City, said it is likely that Wonder Lady Anne L will winter at Palm Meadows in south Florida.
Lopez out six to eight weeks
Jockey Chuck Lopez will be out of action six to eight weeks because of a broken thumb and a cracked rib he suffered in a spill at Aqueduct on Friday.
Lopez was one of three jockeys who fell in Friday's third race, but he was the only one of the three who was not taken off the track on a stretcher. Apprentice jockeys Channing Hill and Pablo Morales also fell. Hill rode Saturday, while Morales took off Saturday but was expected to return on Sunday.
Lopez was aboard Pavlina, who was making a three-wide bid for the lead at the quarter pole when she broke broke her left ankle and went down. The horses Hill and Morales were riding also fell, unseating their riders. Lopez got back up immediately, but took off his mounts to consult his personal doctor.
Lopez suffered a torn rotator cuff in a spill on Sept. 11, 2004, that forced him to miss several months.