The Fox (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies and Mares and Upward
One Mile on the Inner Turf
April 2, 2016

Last Voyager came into The Fox only having raced three weeks ago at PRX in an optional claimer.  He was second there, and because of that there was not many who believed that this filly was one of the top choices in the race.  In the long run, it seemed as though that race may have just been a tune up for this one.  Trainer Canny Lodge, who earns his second career graded stake win, and first in a Grade 2, added a shadow roll to Last Voyager, and that has paid dividends.  The filly that was once claimed for just $10.500 by the trainer in November, has now earned almost $200.000 in 2016 alone.   It is the first win in the stake for both the trainer, and jockey J Talamo, who was making a rare GP appearance due to the FL Derby.   The winning race time was 1:33.57, essentially putting it middle of the road in regards to other editions of the stake. Congratulations to our winner! Let’s take a deeper look at it!

1st- 7- Last Voyager (13/1)- Our eventual race winner from Canny Lodge could see them all in front of her in the early going.  Last Voyager had no interest in the early pace, and would be four and half lengths off the lead as they moved into the backstretch.  Once there, and once she seemed to decide on the lane that she wanted, she began to close in.  Right as they began to move into the final turn, J Talamo asked her for more run, and Last Voyager delivered with a powerful move to easily move into fourth and set her sights on the leader.   By the top of the stretch, she had pulled even with Natural Flower, and it seemed just to be a matter of time before took over the race.  Storm Yell tried to make a battle of it initially, but Last Voyager was just too good, particularly in the final half furlong.  Congratulations again to trainer Canny Lodge on picking up this win!  Last Voyager is a four year old filly by Generals Out There (by General Assembly) and out of the late Decent Voyager.  She was bred in New York by La Canada Racehorses as a second quarter two year old.  After passing through a couple barns, she ended up at Canny Lodge via a claim.  Congrats to all connections!

2nd- 4- Storm Yell (10/1)- Got off to a strong start for her trainer, Goforwand, as she made her graded stake debut.  She would run with leader Natural Flower around the turn and into backstretch, keeping just to her inside.  Maintained this position over the course of the backstretch trip, before eventually taking the lead midway into the turn.  She would clear Natural Flower by a length in the stretch, but at that point, Last Voyager was making her own move and clearly had more power in her stride.   To her credit, Storm Yell made her earn it the best she could, before giving way in the final half furlong and settling for second.

3rd- 2- Condottieris Fox (4/5)– The overwhelming favorite was supposed to be the Queen Fox today for Hawaiian Shirt Guy.  At the start though, she did not get up there with the leaders, and opted to sit about three lengths from the leaders.   When the two that had been running behind her began to make their moves in the final turn, Condottieris Fox simply maintained a steady stride while staying close to the rail, and this allowed her to move up.  She would never challenge for the lead, and merely prevails in a four-way photo for third.

4th- 3- Wild Weather (8/1)- Assumed a stalking position for trainer Downwind Stables in the early going, and would be able to do this while running along the rail.   This is where she seemed to content to ride much of the race.  She stalked the leaders, but never made a move to try to get by either of them.  As those who had been behind her started to advance, Wild Weather simply held her ground.  Overall, her race was not bad but also rather uneventful!

5th- 5- Natural Flower (2/1)- The Maxmillion Farm filly was the quickest of them all out of the gate, leading the field around the opening turn while in the third lane.  She would set the opening quarter in a decent :23.58, and half in :47.05.   She would contest the lead with Storm Yell over the course of the backstretch run, but as they made their way around the turn, she not only began to lose touch with Storm Yell, but also did not have anything to hold off those coming from off the pace.

6th- 6- Spanish Fly (11/1)- The Our Athletes entry would run near the back of the pack early, but as she is known to be a closer, this didn’t seem all that bad.  As they made their move into the final turn, it looked as though J J Castellano was going to have his filly make a move at the same time Last Voyager did, making it appear as though Spanish Fly was in good position.  In the turn, and into the stretch, when it came to time to run, Spanish Fly simply had no stretch response.  Third should have been there for the taking.

Track: Firm
Time: :23²  :47   1:10   1:33²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 4 Paid 580.90
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 4 – 2 Paid 414.30

Scratched: Zero Hour

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES