Black Book Survives at Wire to Win Wilton

By Nynl Stables on July 14, 2023

Wilton ($135.000 Purse)
SAR- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile on the Dirt
July 14, 2023

In her last race, Black Book was left behind at the start and did not show enough in the stretch to make the closing tactic work for her. It was just her fourth career start, and trainer Mb Stables was clearly not worried about it by entering her in the Wilton. For this filly, it would be back to a frontrunning tactic, and she could not have been any happier. The result is a wire to wire for Black Book, although Turning Red made it very close at the end. For Mb Stables, he is now a perfect 2-for-2 in the Wilton while jockey D Davis gets his first win in the race. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:35.30, slightly slower than last year, but that doesn’t really matter. Here’s a look at how it happened.

(1/4 Mile- 23.02)- Black Book goes right to the lead for Mb Stables, but she will have some company with her on the front end, as fittingly running with the book is Librarian, for Jerry Garcia Racing. Hopefully, she won’t let us down from picking her in the preview. Right, Librarian, you wouldn’t do that, would you? Stalking these two front runners is Deadly Silhouette, for Night Mare Racing, and she runs by herself. In the middle of the pack, we have a four wide group, consisting of, from inside to outside, Chariots Of Angels (Hunterman Stable), Turning Red (Crocker Ggs), Dolly P (Arindel), and Silver Kailua (TwinTowersRacing). Chopsticks (Nj Vets) runs a length behind this wall of horses, and at the rear of the field, it’s Macaneau (Lazy Eye) and His Imaginary Lover (Night Rider Stables).

(1/2 Mile- :46.58)- Down the backstretch, Black Book is able to get the better of Librarian and has now pulled out to a full-length lead. However, Librarian still seemed to be safely in second for now, as the gap to third was now about two lengths. That’s where we find Deadly Silhouette, and pulling up beside her now is Dolly P, as that one emerges as the best of that four wide group from earlier. Silver Kailua and Turning Red run side by side in the middle of the field, with the post-time favorite Chariots Of Angels nearby and now Chopsticks looks to make a four wide move. Macaneau and His Imaginary Lover still trail.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Around the turn, the cruising speed of Black Book was impressive, as she makes it look far too easy as she pulls away from the rest of the pack even more. Part of this was Librarian beginning to call it a day, but even the rest of the field was losing ground to her within the turn. If anyone was going to make a bid at Black Book now, the best option seemed to be Dolly P, as she had been running third and was just about to take over the second spot. Deadly Silhouette was losing ground, but also looking intriguing at this time was Turning Red but even she had a lot of work to do. Further back. Chopsticks was making some progress on the outside, and now both Macaneau and His Imaginary Lover were hitting their best stride.

(Finish- 1:35.30)- Black Book seems to have this one in the bag, looking really good at the top of the stretch, and now with just a furlong to go, she still had a two-length lead. Getting closer to the wire, Dolly P wasn’t making enough progress, and neither seemingly, was Turning Red. But in the closing moments, Black Book started to show some signs of fatigue, and this race that seemed all but over was suddenly going to get very interesting. M Franco and Turning Red stayed with it, driving hard all the way to the wire, and amazingly, they forced the stewards to have to look at a very close photo. In the end, Black Book survives and Turning Red grabs second. Dolly P was within a length in third, and then came the two closers, His Imaginary Lover and Macaneau. Rounding it out it’s Chopsticks, Deadly Silhouette, Chariots Of Angels, Librarian, and Silver Kailua.

About The Winner- Black Book, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by D Davis, is a three-year-old filly by Capitalist and is out of Black Dawn. She was bred in New York by Patterson Stables as a third quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Mb Stables, via Fractious, for $21.000 in a September 2022 private sale while she was still unraced. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her second in five starts, and first stake win. Her career earnings are now $126.770.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Black Book

Mb Stables

Davis D

8.05

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