On The Contrary made her stakes debut a winning one in the $750.000 Untapable Stakes, advancing sharply after racing seventh through the opening stages and getting up for a neck victory. The unbeaten 2-year-old gray filly from Greyhound went off at 7-1 with Alvarado F T aboard and completed the 6 1/2 furlongs over firm Kentucky Downs turf in 1:14.78.

Race Recap

On The Contrary remained perfect with her second victory in as many starts, capturing the $750.000 Untapable Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Kentucky Downs. Owner/trainer Greyhound sent out the winner, with Alvarado F T handling the riding assignment.

The 14-filly field traveled 6 1/2 furlongs over firm turf, with the race clocked in :22.4, :45.3, 1:09.0 and 1:14.3. On The Contrary was not among the early leaders, sitting seventh at each of the first two calls before producing the decisive advance. Divine State finished second after spending the entire race among the leaders, while Indian Fatwa came from tenth to take third. Pot Pon Fire, dismissed at 62-1, greatly exceeded market expectations by finishing fourth after reaching third during the latter portion of the race.

The Running

Opening call — :22.4: Twenty Dollar View established the early advantage, holding a half-length lead. Bad Habits was second, a half-length behind, while Divine State occupied third, three-quarters from the leader. Driftline followed in fourth, Neon Bay Annie was fifth and Pot Pon Fire sixth. Eventual winner On The Contrary began from seventh, two lengths behind the horse immediately ahead of her. Sentrifical was eighth, What About It ninth and Indian Fatwa tenth. Decima Change, Grayte Lovers, Go Go Supreme and Cheveley Special completed the order through the opening stage.

Second call — :45.3: Twenty Dollar View continued to lead, increasing the advantage to three-quarters of a length. Divine State moved from third into second, while Bad Habits slipped from second to third. Pot Pon Fire advanced from sixth to fourth, and Neon Bay Annie remained fifth. Driftline moved back from fourth to sixth. On The Contrary was still seventh, holding the same position she had occupied at the opening call. Sentrifical remained eighth and What About It stayed ninth. Indian Fatwa continued in tenth, while Grayte Lovers, Decima Change, Go Go Supreme and Cheveley Special remained in the second half of the field.

Third call — 1:09.0: The complexion of the Untapable changed dramatically. Divine State completed her steady progression and took command, moving from third to second to first. On The Contrary launched the race’s most consequential move, surging from seventh into second and getting within a half-length of the new leader. Pot Pon Fire continued her advancement and moved into third after beginning sixth. Driftline recovered from sixth to take fourth, while Indian Fatwa made substantial progress from tenth into fifth. What About It advanced from ninth to sixth.

Bad Habits, prominent through the first two calls, dropped from third to seventh. Twenty Dollar View experienced an even more pronounced reversal after leading the opening two stages, falling to eighth. Go Go Supreme improved from 13th to ninth, while Neon Bay Annie dropped from fifth to tenth. Grayte Lovers was 11th, Decima Change 12th, Sentrifical 13th and Cheveley Special 14th.

Final stage: On The Contrary sustained the momentum of her seventh-to-second advance and overhauled Divine State to secure the victory. Divine State fought on for second after taking command at the previous call. Indian Fatwa continued her strong late progression, advancing from fifth into third after having been tenth through the first two calls.

Pot Pon Fire finished fourth after racing sixth, fourth and third at the preceding calls, producing a considerably stronger result than her odds suggested. What About It also continued moving forward from ninth early to complete the top five. Driftline finished sixth after briefly reaching fourth at the third call, while Go Go Supreme continued her recovery from 13th to finish seventh.

Bad Habits finished eighth after being part of the early pace. Decima Change improved from 12th at the third call to finish ninth, and Grayte Lovers advanced from 11th to tenth. Neon Bay Annie continued backward after racing fifth during the first two calls and finished 11th. Cheveley Special, the post-time favorite, improved from 14th to 12th in the final stage. Twenty Dollar View, the early leader, faded to 13th, while Sentrifical completed the field in 14th.

Each Runner Mentioned

On The Contrary — Raced seventh through the first two calls before making a powerful advance into second and completing the rally with a neck victory. She remained unbeaten through two career starts.

Divine State — Stayed close throughout, progressing from third to second to first before being overtaken by On The Contrary and finishing second.

Indian Fatwa — Produced one of the strongest rallies in the field. She was tenth through the opening two calls, advanced to fifth and continued forward to finish third.

Pot Pon Fire — Far outran expectations at 62-1. She progressed from sixth to fourth to third before finishing fourth, missing a top-three placing by only a neck.

What About It — Began ninth, remained there at the second call and then advanced to sixth before finishing fifth.

Driftline — Raced fourth early, dropped to sixth, recovered to fourth and ultimately finished sixth.

Go Go Supreme — Was 13th through the opening two calls before advancing to ninth and continuing forward to finish seventh.

Bad Habits — Pressed the early pace from second, was third at the second call and then lost ground through the latter stages to finish eighth.

Decima Change — Raced 11th and then 12th before remaining 12th at the third call and improving to ninth at the finish.

Grayte Lovers — Was 12th at the opening call, 11th at the next two calls and finished tenth.

Neon Bay Annie — Held fifth through the first two calls before dropping to tenth and finishing 11th.

Cheveley Special — The post-time favorite raced 14th throughout the first three calls before improving to finish 12th.

Twenty Dollar View — Set the pace through the opening two calls before dropping to eighth at the third call and finishing 13th.

Sentrifical — Raced eighth through the opening two calls before falling to 13th and ultimately finishing 14th.

About The Winner

The Untapable victory lifted On The Contrary’s career record to a perfect 2 starts, 2 wins, with lifetime earnings of $470.250. The gray filly is by Cheveley Park out of Party In The Brig, was bred by Mo Mentum Farm in Ontario and is currently owned and trained by Greyhound.

$2 Mutuel Prices:

Track: Firm       Time: :22⁴  :45³  1:09   1:14³
$1 Exacta: 8 – 7 Paid 107.90         $1 Trifecta: 8 – 7 – 14 Paid 1,269.80
Scratched: None

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded