The Just A Game (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
BEL- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
June 5, 2021

Coming into the Just A Game, La Terrifiant was on good form and seemed to be in a good position to win the race for the second straight year. Hash Tag Hash, however, had other ideas. She was our second choice, so not necessarily a surprise winner unless you thought La Terrifiant had this one in the bag. For Hash Tag Hash, this was her second race for Fractious since the trainer picked her up in private sales a week after she finished second in the Royal Heroine Stakes. There would be no stopping her here, as she utilized a sensible stalking trip to win in a photo over Supersede. It gives Fractious his first win in the race, and it is the second for jockey Mario Gutierrez. Congratulations to them! The time of victory was 1:33.19, which is right in line with other winning times of the race. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :23.33)- Out of the gate, both Smokey Stover’s La Terrifiant and The American’s Ewa Beach start well, and they are heads apart battling for the race lead after a quarter mile. Stalking them about two lengths back are our eventual winner from Fractious, Hash Tag Hash, as well as Supersede, from D J C Racing Stables, as they were about as close here as they would eventually be later. It’s a big gap of about three lengths to Crown Witch (TwinTowersRacing), and she is a length ahead of both Angel Shark (John Henry) and Pink Kitten (Threshold).

(½ Mile- :46.28)- Down the backstretch, La Terrifiant inches away from Ewa Beach by about a length. Otherwise, there is not much different going on throughout the field. Supersede is a head in front of Hash Tag Hash for third, as they are both two lengths from the leader. Further back, there is still quite some distance to the rest of the field, and none of the others are getting more involved. So, let’s move forward.

(Top Of The Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Rounding the turn and moving into the stretch, our two frontrunners hold their spots, but each are looking vulnerable to the two that have been behind them. Hash Tag Hash starting her push for the lead a little bit before Supersede would, and that is something that would become very valuable later on. She was within a length and a half now, and ready to strike in the third lane. One more lane over, Supersede was running well, too, but lost almost a full length to the one she would have to try to catch in the stretch. Not sure if the other three realized they were racing today.

(Finish- 1:33.19)- In the stretch, Hash Tag Hash is just a little bit quicker with every stride than each of La Terrifiant and Ewa Beach, and claims the top spot with just a little less than a furlong to go. Her biggest task now would be holding off Supersede, who was every bit as good as her in the early stretch run, but still had to make up that half length. In a valiant bid, she would come up short, as Hash Tag Hash claims the win. Ewa Beach is third, with La Terrifiant placing fourth. Rounding out the order of horses that were definitely just along for the ride today, it’s Pink Kitten, Angel Shark, and Crown Witch.

About The Winner- Hash Tag Hash, trained by Fractious and ridden to victory by Mario Gutierrez, is a four year filly by Above Reproach, and is out of the late All Hail Chai. She was bred in California by Jive Inc as a second quarter two year old, and acquired by Fractious, via Estero Farms, in private sales for $150.000 in April 2021. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her sixth in 15 starts, her fourth stake win, and third graded win. Her career earnings are now $728.800.

Track: Firm
Time: :23¹  :46¹  1:09²  1:33

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 6 Paid 149.30
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 6 – 4 Paid 1,322.70

Scratched: None

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES