KD Ladies Turf (Grade 3)- $500.000 Purse
KD- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
September 12, 2020

The KD Ladies Turf would be affected by the rains that plagued the track, and forced the races to be run on a yielding surface. This race was impacted by three scratches, one of which was our pre-race pick, Rules Are Madness, a horse that we were excited about seeing run. Concordia and Lady Cowgirl would also opt out of the race, leaving us with a field of eight. This made La Terrifiant, who we picked second, seem like a much better option, even though none of her four off track starts prior to this resulted in a win, either. On Saturday, this great filly would rise up to that challenge, and capture the KD Ladies Turf by a length. She is the stable star for Our Athletes, and guides the trainer and jockey A Beschizza to their first wins in the race. Congratulations to them! The time of the win on the yielding course was 1:36.28. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :24.93)- The eventual race winner, La Terrifiant, is not shy about jumping out to the early lead and pulls out to a length advantage for trainer Our Athletes. That said, this was not a quick opening quarter mile, and two starts ago she did go wire to wire in the Grade 1 Just A Game at BEL. Behind her, they were fanned out four wide, all in a stalking position as they prepared to move around this long and sweeping turn. From inside to outside, this group consisted of longshot Smart Queen (Night Rider Stables), Zee Model (Gdp Inc), Cest And Me (D J C Racing Stables), and last year’s winner, Angel Shark (John Henry). Shes A Native (Mb Stables) was very close to this group, and looked to find room to come between them and make it a group of five. The others, Forty Chai (Estero Farms) and Chances Taken (Mb Stables) were within four and a half lengths from the front, as well.

(½ Mile- :49.99)– While the field was in close proximity in the opening quarter, that would change dramatically over the second quarter. It seemed as though right as they hit a quarter mile, a switch went off for Angel Shark, and she would make a strong charge to the front, and would actually take over the top spot and lead by a length at a half mile. La Terrifiant looked to battle her a little bit, but was content then to sit back by a length. The push by Angel Shark and La Terrifiant trying to hang close now created a large gap to third place. Zee Model, with Smart Queen right beside her, were now four and a half lengths from the lead. That had been the same distance that the trailers were the leaders at after a quarter mile. However, even behind them, there became some distance, with two and a half lengths more to Cest And Me. Recall, that filly right was alongside Angel Shark after two furlongs, and now was seven lengths out. To her inside would be Forty Chai and Shes A Native, and now trailing by ten lengths was Chances Taken.

(Top Of Stretch, 2F To Go)- At the front, a great battle was shaping up between Angel Shark and La Terrifiant. They had a lead of three and a half lengths on third place Zee Model, and given we are talking about a BC Champion and reigning winner of this race, you had to think that they had left the rest of the field behind at this point. Zee Model was actually in good form rounding the turn herself, but had a lot of ground to make up now. Others looked like their battle would be for third as everyone prepared to watch La Terrifiant and Angel Shark go at it.

(Finish- 1:36.28)- Early in the stretch, it looked like La Terrifiant might start to get the better of Angel Shark, but then Angel Shark showed her fight. These two would match strides for a while in the stretch, though with a furlong to go, it looked like La Terrifiant was just slightly better with every stride that she took. This champion filly would show her muscle, and prevail in this battle, winning by a length over a very game Angel Shark. It was very soothing to watch a race like this, with two great horses having a stretch battle between them, and not one of our races where the entire field finishes within three or so lengths. Great horses were on display here today. Finishing third would be Zee Model, and she never had a challenger for that spot. Smart Queen lights up the superfecta. Rounding out the order, its Forty Chai, Shes A Native, Cest And Me, and Chances Taken.

About The Winner- La Terrifiant, trained by Our Athletes, and ridden to victory by A Beschizza, is a five year old mare by Pinkman, and is out of Cest Creepy. She was bred in California by Four Winds Racing as a second quarter two year old, and was acquired by Our Athletes, via Jive Inc, in private sales for $375.000, in April 2018. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her tenth in 29 starts, nine of which are graded races, and as mentioned she is the reigning winner of the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. Her career earnings are now $4,807.000

Track: Yielding
Time: :24⁴  :49⁴  1:13¹  1:36¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 9 – 11 Paid 29.00
$1 Trifecta: 9 – 11 – 8 Paid 360.80

Scratched: Concordia, Lady Cowgirl, Rules Are Madness

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES