Jammed Lovely Stakes ($125.000 Purse)
WO- For Fillies Three Years Old Foaled in ON
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
November 11, 2017

It’s a good day to have Rio in your name, as after observing Rio Cibuco take the Smith Handicap down at AQU, I get to watch Baby Goes To Rio take home the Jammed Lovely at WO. It certainly does make for thoughts of warmer weather on a chilly weekend here in the northeast. That’s really where the similarities end between the two, because while that one was stepping up and winning while near the lead, Baby Goes To Rio had proven herself well before this, having run in both the Cotillion and the Alabama, and she did it while coming from behind. I should have picked this one to win, but then I over thought the race, and thought Cyclonic would be better at the shorter distance then the graded races Baby Goes To Rio ran in. Conversely, it was Cyclonic packing it in while Baby Goes To Rio looked like the seven furlong pro. The winning trainer is Aml Racing, and the jockey was Alan Garcia, each of whom win the race for the first time. The race was won in a time of 1:22.35, the second quickest in the history of the race. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :23.48)- First out of the gate is Hollywood Danzer, from Mb Stables, who clears the field by a length initially, but is soon joined up front by Drabfantasy’s Cyclonic. At a quarter mile, these two are running side by side, with both Unnatural (Hambletonian Stable) and Fromage Blanc (John Henry) stalking them a length back. After a small gap, it’s Buck Warrior (Canadian Racing) fifth, with Family Without Rule (Angelos Stable). Trailing the field early is our eventual winner, Baby Goes To Rio, for Aml Racing. Right from the gate, this one looked to be held back, showing that her intentions would be to save her best for the end. Still, she only trailed by four and a half lengths here, making her positioned well for such a move.

(½ Mile- :46.67)- Hollywood Danzer and Cyclonic start to go at one another pretty hard on the front end over the backstretch, and as they approach the turn, they are still side by side. Unnatural is still in a stalking mode, keeping about a length and a half from the lead, while Fromage Blanc concedes another length. Family Without Rule is looking to position herself for a while move around the turn as Buck Warrior runs on the rail beside her. Baby Goes To Rio explores her options from the back of the field. She’s a little less then six lengths back at this point.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Hollywood Danzer handles the turn very well, and emerges at the top of the stretch with an advantage of almost two lengths as Cyclonic completely packs it in as they run around the turn. Unnatural moves up a spot because of that, and holds the same deficit to the leader. Fromage Blanc is still third, but about to be passed by both Family Without Rule and Baby Goes To Rio. Family Without Rule had moved four wide in the turn and within a length of second. To her outside was Baby Goes To Rio, as the best option for Alan Garcia would be to avoid traffic here and go five wide. Together, both Baby Goes To Rio and Family Without Rule were looking like threats to Hollywood Danzer, but could they get there in time?

Finish (1:22.35)- Initially, it looked like Hollywood Danzer could hold on, but midway through the stretch, the top two had an additional gear to shift into, and they would leave her behind. The question now would be whether it would be Baby Goes To Rio, or Family Without Rule. Both were running exceptionally well, but the quarter-length advantage that Baby Goes To Rio attained at the top of the stretch would hold true for the duration of the stretch, and the Aml Racing filly grabs the win! Family Without Rule runs a very strong second, prevailing a photo with Hollywood Danzer who did all she could. Unnatural edges Fromage Blanc for fourth place monies, with Buck Warrior sixth and Cyclonic bringing up the rear.

About The Winner- Baby Goes To Rio, trained by Aml Racing and ridden by Alan Garcia, is a three year old filly by Sneaky Little Pirate, and out of Rio Grande Girl. She was bred in Ontario by Australia Wide as a second quarter two year old, and acquired by Aml Racing in private sales for $225.000 this April. Congratulations to the connections! It is her third win in eight starts, and her first stake victory. Her career earnings are now $121.700.

Track: Fast
Time: :23²  :46³  1:10   1:22¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 7 Paid 87.70
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 7 – 5 Paid 170.30

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded