The Alabama (Grade 1) (BC)- $500.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
August 15, 2020

Before the race began, the complexion of the event would change with the scratch of Odd Trek. It is unclear why D J C Racing Stables chose to do this, but with the expected favorite out of the race, the chances of the rest of the field got much greater. Even without Odd Trek in the race, there were still plenty of well accomplished horses in the field, one of them being Precise Performance, who was one of our picks in the preview as well. The filly has been one of the better horses in this division, and now she picks up her first Grade 1 win. It was a great day for her trainer, Mb Stables, who also saddled the runner up, Keymadge, a horse he acquired just two weeks ago. Mb Stables has now won the Alabama twice, having also done so in 2017 with Musical Treat. Aboard the winner was G Franco, his first such win. Congratulations to them! The race was won in a time of 2:01.64. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.90)- Breaking quickly out of the starting gate would be One Step West, and the Maxmillion Farm filly would be one step ahead of the field down the front stretch and into the turn. Also starting well was the eventual winner, Precise Performance, out of Mb Stables, who was content with stalking One Step West around the opening turn, before pulling up beside her by the time they ran half a mile. Between them, they opened up a two and a half length cushion over their next closest competitors. In those positions were Nakamura Stables’ Pocono Fashion and YME Stable’s Flawed Justice. They were joined by Broadway Stripes, from Glorify Stables, who did not start well, but for some reason raced around the opening turn like it was the final turn while running wide in order to join those two. Another length and a half or so back, we had the threesome of, from inside to outside, Tell It Like It Is (Nakamura Stables), How Trait (Gdp Inc), and Keymadge (Mb Stables). Then came Network Pending (EasyMoney Stables), and at the back, and trailing by eight lengths, was Dawning Molly (Patterson Stables).

(¾ Mile- 1:11.69)- For most of the backstretch trip, One Step West and Precise Performance were running side by side, but as they approached the turn, Precise Performance started getting the better of her, although One Step West tried to battle back. The lead was close to three lengths now on that same group as before. Neither of Pocono Fashion or Flawed Justice showed an interest in getting closer to the leaders, and once Broadway Stripes got next to them, she didn’t try to advance further. Meanwhile, we started to see Keymadge showing a little more interest going into the top of the turn, pulling up right behind Broadway Stripes with what seemed to be an intention to make a move in the fourth lane. Tell It Like It Is and How Trait were content to hold their positions, and neither Network Pending nor Dawning Molly got any closer.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Precise Performance did a great job in the turn, and this allowed her to put a little distance between her and One Step West. Approaching the stretch, it was clear that Precise Performance had won that battle, and her biggest challengers would be from someone else in the field. Mb Stables probably didn’t mind who was emerging as that challenger, because that would be Keymadge. As anticipated, she took that fourth lane, and made quick work of those she was running with, and was now heads apart for the third position with Pocono Fashion. That one, and Flawed Justice continued to run steady to hold their positions, but were not making a push for the win. Broadway Stripes began dropping out of it, and How Trait was coming up empty after looking for a moment like she could have a run coming. Very surprisingly, Tell It Like It Is was lacking stretch response, and Network Pending was not getting involved. For Dawning Molly, things were starting to get ugly.

(Finish- 2:01.64)- Precise Performance tried to hang on in the stretch, but as we got closer to the wire, it was looking like she was getting tired. Keymadge was coming on strong, so for Mb Stables, the question was which one would he be taking the winners photo with. They would hit the wire together, and while it looked like it might have been Keymadge with that late push, Precise Performance had just enough to win at the wire by .01 seconds over her new stablemate. Flawed Justice takes third over Pocono Fashion with a consistent run to the end. Fifth goes to Tell It Like It Is, who decided to start running way too late. Perhaps she thought this was another furlong, or something. How Trait is next, followed by One Step West, Network Pending, Broadway Stripes, and a distant Dawning Molly.

About The Winner- Precise Performance, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by G Franco is a three year old filly by Coin Flip, and is out of Furious Missle. She was bred in California by Mb Stables as a second quarter two year old, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her seventh in 12 starts, her sixth stake win, four of which are graded. Her career earnings are now $1,069.200.

Track: Fast
Time: :47⁴  1:11³  1:36   2:01³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 2 Paid 18.90
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 2 – 5 Paid 983.00

Scratched: Odd Trek

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES