Princess Rooney Stakes (BC) (Grade 2)- $250.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
June 30, 2018

It was a good day for Mb Stables at the Princess Rooney Stakes, as both his expected favorite and his up and comer completed the exacta in the race, marking the second consecutive year that the trainer has picked up this stake win. Toleration, although not the post time favorite, did seem to be the one to beat, and she was amongst our picks. This is a filly that never has two bad races in a row, and on the rare occasions where she was off the mark somewhat, she always bounced back well. Perhaps then, we should have seen this coming. Aboard the winner was S X Bridgmohan. Its his second win as well, but you have to go back to 2008 when he was aboard Blonde Dynamite. Mb Stables will certainly hope for more career parallels between them two. For now, congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:21.68, the second quickest of the three editions run at this distance. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.00)- Capella Rising, who was our pick to win the race, looks good early on for Stone Creek Farm. She battles initially with The Reaper, from John Henry, who also started from the outside, and then outruns Long December, from D J C Racing Stables, in order to claim the early lead by a length. Long December is second, with Cmon Yall (Gdp Inc), joining the fun near the front, and The Reaper fourth along the outside. In the middle of the field, the three who started on the inside are matching strides, Gottahotone, the post time favorite from Team 7 Illusions is on the rail with the eventual winner from Mb Stables, Toleration to her outside. Oyster Puff, the longshot from Mb Stables ran with her stablemate. It was a break of two lengths to another Mb Stables filly, Steel Calling, and Amen Sista (D J C Racing Stables) was to her outside. Another length and a half to the trailer, Set In Stone (Smokey Stover).

(½ Mile- :45.75)- During the backstretch trip, there would not be many position changes, but there was a lot of jostling around amongst the field, especially in the middle of the back as jockeys looked to get the preferred lane for their filly. Capella Rising still led, and was able to smoothly move over the rail well before reaching the turn. Cmon Yall was not challenging for the lead at this point. Both The Reaper and Long December would hold their ground as both Gottahotone and Toleration began looking for lanes. Gottahotone came off the rail, and looked to move to the outside of Long December, causing Toleration to also move down a lane. This positioned Toleration well for a run to the outside of Cmon Yall. Oyster Puff backed off and was now trailing the two she had been running with by a length. Steel Calling, Amen Sista, and Set In Stone had yet to make a move.

(Top Of Stretch- 1.7F To Go)- Capella Rising was still up front, and was actually looking pretty good here. She seemed to be in a steady stride, and led by a length and half. Toleration, however, was coming on strong, using the lane that she had been preparing to take to pull even with Cmon Yall for the second position. Gottahotone was running into traffic trouble at this point. Moving into the stretch, both Long December and The Reaper were lacking response, but coming on strong would be Oyster Puff. She would take the outermost lane, and was in an all out drive. A gap was setting up for Steel Calling to make a run. Amen Sista and Set In Stone still seemed a little flat.

(Finish- 1:21.68)- In the stretch, Mb Stables had to like what he saw. Toleration put aside the challenge of Cmon Yall, and Capella Rising could not hold her off either. There would only be one challenger, and she was coming on very strong. But that was another Oyster Puff, another horse that he owned. A close photo was needed to determine which horse the trainer would be taking his photo with in the winner circle, and that would be Toleration edging Oyster Puff. Cmon Yall slipped by Capella Rising very late and took third in another close photo. Steel Rising, the other Mb Stables was coming on well, but could only finish fifth. Gottahotone was sixth, and did not live up to the crowd’s faith in her. The Reaper was a flat today, running seventh. Then it was Long December, Set In Stone, and Amen Sista. Amen Sista actually looked for a moment like she was going to make a bid with a power move to the outside on exit of the turn, but it never amounted to anything.

About The Winner: Toleration, trained by Mb Stables, and ridden to victory by S X Bridgmohan, is a four year old filly by General Motors, and is out of Etched In Bronze. She was bred in Ontario by Mb Stables as first quarter two year old, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her eighth in 18 starts, and its her third graded win. Her career earnings are now $1,273.370.

Track: Fast
Time: :23   :45³  1:09¹  1:21³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 3 Paid 312.50
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 3 – 7 Paid 1,496.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES