Santa Ysabel Stakes (KYO) (Grade 3)- $100.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
March 3, 2018

In her last race, Molly Magne needed to show a lot of heart and overall stretch desire to prevail in a very tight second place photo in the Las Virgenes. With the one that won that race not here, Molly Magne seemed to looked good for the Santa Ysabel against several of those rivals. With a little longer of a distance to run, her outlook seemed even better. Despite that, I put Jokes On You over her in my picks, keeping me from going 3-for-3 for the weekend. In the Santa Ysabel, with some rain that made the track only listed as good, Molly Magne was much the best, topping one that had a little more dash to her step to get the win. Truly an impressive effort, and one worth more then the mere $100.000 purse that this race went for. Congratulations to the proud winning trainer, Gdp Inc, who wins the race for the first time, as does jockey E A Roman. The time of the win was 1:43.86. Let’s take a look at it now!

(1/4 Mile- :23.52)- With so many returnees from the Grade 2 Las Virgenes last month, the one of the lead was not a surprise at all, as it would be the veteran Dashing Throughout, from Toppedout. She had company on the front, though, as fellow outside post starter Charleys Delite, from Pan Farms would join her. Estero Farms’ Nice Az assumed a stalking position behind them in the third position, with Truly Deeply Madly, who was initially quick then appeared to be restrained a bit, running fourth for Jive Inc. She was a length a head of a wall that consisted of (from inside to outside): Niagra Mrs (Oval Express Farms), Fortune Tune (Aml Racing), Moon Condo (Hambletonian Stable), and the eventual winner, Molly Magne (Gdp Inc). They would be four lengths out. Behind them another lengths were the Mb Stables’ duo of Im Working On It and Jokes On You. Trailing, after being lethargic out of the starting gate, was Shatterbox (Wolfs Den).

(½ Mile- :47.30)- Running down the backstretch, Dashing Throughout and Charleys Delite continued to pace the field and led by two and a half over the rest of the field. Behind them, Molly Magne would show some push to move a little closer to the front, perhaps just not to be caught in the outside lane, and joined Nice Az to run side by side for third. Niagra Mrs, Truly Deeply Madly, and Fortune Tune ran together another length and a half back, with Im Working On It and Moon Condo being next in line. Jokes On You would be near the back, while Shatterbox at least moved up to join the rest of the field.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Dashing Throughout continued to lead the field into the final turn, and heading into the backstretch, and seemed to have a lot more fight in her here then she did in the Las Virgenes. Molly Magne was looming on the outside, and had pulled to be within a length. Once she cleared Dashing Throughout, she would have nothing but daylight in front of her if she could maintain her stride. Challengers were emerging, but she had a good advantage on them at this point. Dashing Throughout looked like she would be more feisty in the stretch here, and Charleys Delite would be gasping as she failed to keep up with the experienced pacesetter. Fortune Tune was looking like a formidable foe in the stretch, moving into fourth and only being a length behind Molly Magne. Gearing up for a run another lane over would be Moon Condo. Nice Az had a good lane on the inside, but seemed to be dropping, especially considering that it wasn’t that long ago where she was even with Molly Magne. Niagra Miss and Truly Deeply Madly were in the thick of the middle of the field while Im Working On It worked on getting a good lane for the stretch. Stablemate Jokes On You did not appear to be as fortunate, and Shatterbox may have lost the race out of the gate.

(Finish- 1:43.86)- A fantastic run by Molly Magne in the stretch makes her the dominant horse in the Santa Ysabel. When it looked like Fortune Tune might challenge her, it was as if she found another gear and continued to pull away. Good looking win for her, and definitely has to be considered a strong KYO threat at this time. Dashing Throughout was second, and while she may have begun to show tiring late in the stretch, it was a much better effort then the Las Virgenes for her. Moon Condo ran well in the stretch, but never was a threat to the winner, or to Dashing Throughout. Im Working On It patiently waited for an inside lane to open up, and it was enough to get a fourth place check. Fortune Tune simply seemed to hit the brakes with a furlong to go, and runs fifth. Niagra Mrs, Jokes On You, and Truly Deeply Madly are next, all having run an uneventful race. Nice Az retreated to ninth, while Shatterbox was a disappointing tenth. The leg weary Charleys Delite finishes out the running order.

About The Winner: Molly Magne, trained by Gdp Inc, and ridden to victory by E A Roman, is a three year old filly by Charlemagne and out of Miss Molly. She was bred in New York as a first quarter two year old by Gdp Inc, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her third in nine starts, her second stake win, and first graded win. Her career earnings are now $288.760.

Track: Good
Time: :23²  :47¹  1:11³  1:43⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 10 Paid 107.10
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 10 – 8 Paid 1,315.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES