Late Burst Wins The Davona Dale Stakes for Curlina

By Nynl Stables on March 6, 2022

The Davona Dale Stakes (KYO) (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile on the Dirt
March 5, 2022

It took a lot of money, $450.000, for Arindel to get Curlina, but in her second start since the sale, the filly is off to a good start in getting some of that money back. The purse money for The Davona Dale Stakes is part of it, but perhaps more important are the 50 points for the KYO that she just earned. Arindel has a handful of strong candidates for the big race, and now Curlina officially adds her name to that list. With this win, Arindel now has five fillies in the top 21 of the KYO leaderboard, though only two are in the top fourteen. We’ll have to see how things continue to play out if we are talking about Arindel being in a situation where he has to choose his three best for the race. It is the first time that both the trainer and jockey J C Ferrer have won the Davona Dale Stakes, congratulations to them on that! The winning time was 1:35.53, which was not quite as quick as recent years, but all that was needed. Let’s take a look at it!

(¼ Mile- :23.43)- Four horses vie for the early lead as the race gets started, and prevailing in this battle would be Last Call, for YME Stable, doing so with a great break from her outside post. Over on the rail, Bella Chica, out of Mb Stables would have to settle for the second position. Running right between them, and each falling about a half length back after a quarter mile would be Believe In Miracles, for TwinTowersRacing, and Brienne The Snake, for Martyparty. There would be three stalkers, and running to the inside of this group was our eventual winner, Arindel’s Curlina. Orange Creek, out of Iolaus Racing, runs between horses, and in the third lane, it’s Theres No Doubt, for Angelos Stable. Perfect Class (Sccj Stables) and Angelic (D J C Racing Stables) would run side by side in the middle of the field. Next would come Lonely (Ace Racing Stable), followed by Sensation (Mb Stables) and Paris Pinnacle Party (Mb Stables).

(½ Mile- :46.87)- The field makes their way down the backstretch with a nearly identical second quarter fraction as the first quarter had been. Last Call is the leader still, running four wide as they prepare to enter the turn. Of that initial four at the front, only Believe In Miracles has started to back out of it just a little bit. Brienne The Snake is looking good, running in the second position, narrowly over Bella Chica. Behind them, Curlina is not letting them get away from her, stalking the pacesetters some more as she puts a little distance over the two she had been running with, Orange Creek and Theres No Doubt. Joining her now would be Lonely as that one was ambitious during this segment of the race and moves into the sixth spot. Perfect Class still continues to run in the middle of the field with Angelic and Sensation nearby. Paris Pinnacle Party was another three lengths behind them.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- During the turn, both Last Call and Brienne The Snake go at one another pretty hard, and there is nothing that Bella Chica can do about this, as she begins to bow out. Also losing ground within the turn would be Believe In Miracles. Not having any such problem would be Curlina, as she looked strong in the turn running into the back of Brienne The Snake. For now, she would not have room to make a push, and would need to pass Bella Chica quickly, then that room would be there on the rail. Orange Creek and Theres No Doubt would go four and five wide around the turn, and the post-time favorite, Perfect Class was to their inside with not a lot of room to make a push at the top of the stretch. Angelic still had not made a move forward, and possibly an outside move could be made. Lonely was falling out of contention quickly, and Sensation was struggling. Paris Pinnacle Party moved around both of them and looked to pass more in the stretch.

(Finish- 1:35.53)- With a furlong to go, Brienne The Snake was looking real good, winning the battle with Last Call and leading the field by a length. Curlina, meanwhile, continued to run well, and would make the pass of Bella Chica early in the stretch. She would get some help from Brienne The Snake moving over a lane, creating a clear shot to the front. As they got closer to the wire, she responded to J C Ferrer’s urging, and would have a great burst in the final moments to get up for the win! It seemed as though it might be Angelic having the biggest stretch run just before that though, as she was coming on hard on the outside, but stalled a little when drawing even with Theres No Doubt before rediscovering that stride. Perfect Class was able to stay to the inside, and made a strong bid of her own. However, Curlina was simply not going to be denied with the way that she ran at the end, and would win the race by a length! Angelic takes second with her outside run, and Perfect Class and Theres No Doubt will share the third place spoils. Fifth goes to Brienne The Snake, who surprisingly gets nothing to show for her effort. Orange Creek ran a decent sixth, and Paris Pinnacle Party and Last Call are the second dead heat of the race. From 5th-8th, with a little more luck, may have been third, but that is of little solace now. Can’t say the same for the rest: Bella Chica, Believe In Miracles, Sensation, and Lonely.

About The Winner- Curlina, trained by Arindel and ridden to victory by J C Ferrer, is a three year old filly by Z Grayte One and is out Sightseek. She was bred by Fractious as a third quarter two year old in Kentucky, and was acquired in private sales by Arindel in late January for $450.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her third in six starts, her second stake win and first graded win. Her career earnings are now $238.800.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Curlina

Arindel

Ferrer J C

12.55

1¹