The Personal Ensign (BC) (Grade 1)- $600.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
August 28, 2021

The obligatory weekend big race dead heat occurred in The Personal Ensign this week, as Drink Me Pretty and Miss Steel Mazula could not be separated after nine furlongs. It was a race that did not have a huge favorite, but Drink Me Pretty was among the top choices with Miss Steel Mazula being a little more of a longshot. Each would run near the front most of the way, but in the end, Mb Stables (Drink Me Pretty) and Nakamura Stables (Miss Steel Mazula) will have to share the top spot in this one. Interestingly, considering the accolades of these trainers, it is the first time that either of them have won the Personal Ensign. Jockeys E Jaramillo and V R Carrasco are also first time winners. Congratulations all around on the firsts! The race was run in a time of 1:48.23, the fourth quickest running of the race. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.77)- Scarlet And Gray explodes out of the starting gate for Nakamura Stables, and does have some company up front with her stablemate, one of the eventual winners, Miss Steel Mazula. However, even that one can’t quite keep up with Scarlet And Gray as the leader holds a length lead early on. The other co-winner, Drink Me Pretty, runs in the third position for Mb Stables and is about two lengths back. She still has a cushion over the rest of the field, as La Marseillaise is fourth, but about two lengths behind Drink Me Pretty. This puts our eventual top four finishers all in the top four after half a mile. Orange Beach (Mb Stables) and Laffy Crack (NIght Rider Stables) are within a length of fourth, and Hallowed Halls (Rock Creek) is also nearby. Next come Empire World (Maxmillion Farm) and Wbf No Regrets (TwinTowersRacing), with the trailers being Dream Woman (Fractious) and Tenrikyo (Smokey Stover).

(¾ Mile- 1:11.51)- Down the backstretch, and into the turn Team Nakamura continues to lead the way. Miss Steel Mazula has closed in on her stablemate, pulling up along her outside and is now just a half length back. Drink Me Pretty, as we enter the turn, starts to show her intentions of making a move in the turn, too. She’s not quite there yet, but you had to sense that entering the stretch she would be right with the top two. There is still a gap of about two lengths to the rest of the field, which is still led by La Marseillaise. Distances remained the same to Orange Beach, Laffy Crack, and Hallowed Halls with the rest further back.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- It remains the two horses from Nakamura Stables up front, as now Miss Steel Mazula and Scarlet And Gray are matching one another’s stride. Entering the stretch, they were very courteous to allow a nice gap between them to present themselves right in the lane that Drink Me Pretty would need to take. She was still a length back, not progressing as much as I thought she would in the turn, but still very much a threat. La Marseillaise is gaining some ground, but needed more to have a shot at the win. No one else was looming as a threat.

(Finish- 1:48.23)- In the stretch, Miss Steel Mazula began to look like she had done everything she needed to go to get the win (that she didn’t need to share). With less than a furlong to go, she was inching away from her stablemate and Drink Me Pretty still had to make up that length. With half a furlong to go, still a length lead. Approaching the wire, Drink Me Pretty made a last gap effort like a team down to their last strike in the bottom of the ninth, and Miss Steel Mazula had no answer. They’ll share the win at the wire. La Marseillaise was the fastest horse in the stretch, but conceded too much ground early. She’ll still get third, over Scarlet And Gray. Empire World and Wbf No Regrets were next, followed by Laffy Crack, Tenrikyo, Hallowed Halls, Orange Beach, and Dream Woman.

About The Winners:
Drink Me Pretty, trained by Mb Stables and ridden by victory by E Jaramillo, is a four year old filly by Captain Rush and is out of Musical Crown. She was bred by Zoeller as a yearling in New Mexico, and acquired by Mb Stables, via Estero Farms, in April 2021, for $500.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her sixth in 21 starts, her fourth stake win, and third graded win. Her career earnings are now $2,304.080.

Miss Steel Mazula, trained by Nakamura Stables and ridden to victory by V R Carrasco, is a four year old filly by Mazula Ruler and is out of the late Valyrian Steel. She was bred as a second quarter two year old by LionKing Stables, and acquired by Nakamura Stables unraced in the June 2019 auction for just $3.690. The win is her seventh in 16 starts, her third stake win, and second graded win. Her career earnings are now $696.170.

Track: Fast
Time: :47³  1:11²  1:35³  1:48¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 11 Paid 33.20, 11 – 5 Paid 40.90
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 11 – 3 Paid 130.30, 11 – 5 – 3 Paid 388.90

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES