The NY (Grade 2)- $600.000 Purse
BEL- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Inner Turf
June 8, 2018

Plenty of good music was made on the track in the finale of race card Friday at BEL. Musical Treat, surprisingly overlooked by a lot of bettors, going off at odds of nearly 10/1, though was our second pick, picked up the victory by being near the front for the duration of the race then holding off the field at the end. Her odds may have been more of a product of the overall strength of the field, but still seemed a little too high. Not that it matters to trainer Mb Stables, who can cross this off the list of a shrinking list of stakes that he has never won. Jockey L H Colon is also a first time winner of the race. Congratulations to them! The time of the win 1:58.55, the second quickest in the history of the stake, just slightly off of Altered Skeleton’s time in 2016. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/2 Mile- :46.82)- Gift Of Rain, from Maxmillion Farm, charges out of the gate, and quickly takes the lead. This allows her to comfortably move herself all the way over to the rail with no interference, and well before entering the opening turn. There are two that are close by, including eventual winner Musical Treat from Mb Stables, who is content to ride in a stalking position right behind her. Running to her inside would be the other Maxmillion entry, Eastern Sky. As they reached the backstretch, though, Eastern Sky, dropped back another length. In the fourth position, we had Mo Ki Missy, from Keikowin Racing. She was not aggressive out of the gate as the other three seemed to be, but began her push forward while rounding the turn, and put herself with the frontrunners. The middle of the field found Sassy One (Smokey Stover) and Hide N Seek Pup (Gdp Inc). These two were content just to run their own race at this point, but wanted to keep the frontrunners within a striking range, trailing by about four and a half. Then its another two and a half to those well at the back: Eye Of A Cobra (D J C Racing Stables), Bonkers (Team 7 Illusions), and 2015 NY Winner, Volare (Axeman).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.42)- There were not many passes over the course of the backstretch trip, but what we did see was both Gift of Rain and Musical Treat open up over the rest of the field . Musical treat was now alongside Gift Of Rain, and the top of them had extended their lead to three lengths now on their closest competitors. That would remain both Eastern Sky and Mo Ki Missy, but they were falling into the clutches of the rest of the field. Sassy One and Hide N Seek Pup, who patiently would wait out their time to strike had now caught them. Sassy One had the preferable lane, and was beginning to make the three wide move around them at this point. Hide N Seek Pup was blocked a bit from doing the same thing. Eye Of A Cobra, Bonkers, and Volare were still 8-9 lengths out.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Musical Treat may have gotten away from them at this point. She confidently rounded the turn running in great form, putting away Gift Of Rain, and had a two and half lead on the new second place horse, Sassy One. Gift Of Rain was awful in the turn and was no longer a factor. Sassy One was able to use the third lane that she had worked on leading into the turn pretty well, and was running well into the stretch. But did she have enough race track left to catch Musical Treat? Hide N Seek Pup, her running mate for most of the race, was hindered a little by traffic, but would look to do the same on the far outside. She had about four lengths to make up on the leader and still had to find a way to get a length back on Sassy One. Mo Ki Missy had a steady run in the turn but did not seem poised to make a run at the leaders. Eastern Sky was dropping out of it, while Bonkers, Volare, and Eye Of A Cobra showed no signs of closing kick.

(Finish- 1:58.55)- Musical Treat, thanks to running at the front right from the start, was able to hang on for the win. Only very late in the stretch did Sassy One make L H Colon sweat a little bit as it was an otherwise a very easy, and graceful looking victory. Sassy One was second, never able to make up all the ground in the stretch, but made a worthy effort. So to did Hide N Seek Pup, and all three of the trainers should be happy with the performance of their horse in the race. There was a three length gap to fourth place Mo Ki Missy, who ran methodically the whole way, but needed an additional push at some point in the race. Thanks to others tiring out rather then showing much of a closing kick, Volare is fifth. She was still beaten five lengths, so only made up three in the stretch. Gift of Rain was still able to be sixth, holding off the crowd-disappointing Bonkers, who was the post-time favorite. Eastern Sky and Eye Of A Cobra finish it out.

About The Winner: Musical Treat, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by L H Colon, is a four year old filly by Caught Red Hoofed, and is out of Alexs Steel. She was bred in Florida by Mb Stables, the only trainer for which she has ever known! Congratulations to the connections! The win is her 8th in 16 starts, and her fourth graded victory. Her career earnings are now $1,297.110.

Track: Firm
Time: :46⁴  1:10²  1:34   1:58²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 6 Paid 47.80
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 6 – 2 Paid 455.80

Scratched: None

Exacta Box Picked By NS

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES