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Niagra Keys Comes from Way Back to Win Alexandra Stakes

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Alexandra Stakes (Grade 2) (KYO)- $300.000 Purse
FG- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 18, 2022

In her last start, Niagra Keys raced right here at FG, and started from post #11. The race was the $100.000 Untapable, and she came from well off the pace to score the victory. Now, here we are a month later, same racetrack and the same starting post. Would it mean the same result? Absolutely! Once again, this Niagra filly started at the back but made her move late to score the win! That is a tendency that is only going to get more favorable for her, one would think, as the distances increase. Celebrating the win, and the 50 KYO points is trainer Alydar Stables, who wins the Alexandra for the first time. In the saddle was F T Alvarado, and they too, are a first-time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the 1:42.01, which is a middle of the road, overall, winning time for this race. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :23.23)- Lucky Star pushes out to the lead from her outside post for Calia Stable and leads by a length and a half as we move around the opening turn. She has three stalkers right behind her, with Up She Flew, out of Aer Stables, being the closest one to her. To her inside, each of the Mb Stables fillies, Untidy and Sioux Flower. There’s another group of three right behind them, with TwinTowersRacing’s Black Moon Concerto having a neck in front of Snake Island (Night Mare Racing) and Rupees (Arindel). After a gap of a length and a half, Tokyo Story (Smokey Stover), with Appreciate (Mo Mentum Farm) alongside and Twilight Time (Fractious). Then, it’s Class Four (Chili King Stables), and at the back of the pack, our eventual winner from Alydar Stables, Niagra Keys, sees them all in front of her for the moment, trailing by six.

(1/2 Mile- :46.87)- The field moves down the backstretch, and Lucky Star is looking to pull away even more, extending her advantage to two lengths. It’s the same group of three behind her, with Up She Flew remaining half a length ahead of Untidy and Sioux Flower. There’s not much change in the middle of the field, with Black Moon Concerto ahead of Snake Island and Rupees with Twilight Time, Tokyo Story, and Appreciate all nearby. Class Four is still next, and Niagra Keys continues to have a lot of work to do at this point, but at least we know this is exactly the way she wants to run.

(Top of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Completing the backstretch portion, and for most of the run around the turn, we don’t see much movement anywhere in the field. Lucky Star still leads, and that advantage is still about two lengths as no one has made a move on her yet. Up She Flew, Untidy, and Sioux Flower run evenly for second, but for now you have to wonder if they are just waiting for Lucky Star to drop back to them. The horses in the middle of the field were not showing much either, on and the only horse that was looking like she was about to make a push to the front would be Niagra Keys. Near the exit of the turn, she would make an emphatic move to the outside, putting herself in a spot where she could make a charge to the front unhindered. She hadn’t passed anyone yet, and had about six lengths to still make up, but she was ready now to pounce.

(Finish- 1:42.01)- In the stretch, Lucky Star is still looking like she would have enough to hold off the stalkers as they were only making very slight gains. The biggest concern for that would be Niagra Keys, who was showing her powerful stretch kick. With about a furlong to go, she was passing horses with relative ease. It seemed like she would be a lock for second or third at this point, but would she be able to get all the way to the leader? Even with a half furlong to go, she still had two lengths to make up, but that would not matter as she kept pouring it on and would find a way to get up just time to score the big win! Lucky Star gets second, beating Up She Flew and Untidy for that position. Tokyo Story came through along the inside for fifth, taking that spot from Sioux Flower. Rounding out the running order, it’s Snake Island, Appreciate, Twilight Time, Black Moon Concerto, Class Four, and Rupees.

About The Winner- Niagra Keys, trained by Alydar Stables and ridden to victory by F T Alvarado, is a three-year-old filly by Niagra and is out of Key West Mama. She was bred in California as a first quarter two-year-old by Alydar Stables, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her third in four starts, her second stake win and first graded win! Her career earnings are now $272.420.

##   Horse Name Owner Name Jockey Odds   Fin Time SRF 
11
  Niagra Keys Alydar Stables Alvarado F T 16.50   11/4 1:42.01  
12
  Lucky Star Calia Stable Saez L 4.45   2nk 1:42.09  
7
  Up She Flew Aer Stables Davis D 4.65   3no 1:42.15  
3
  Untidy Mb Stables Silvera Ru 3.45   4nk 1:42.17  
6
  Tokyo Story Smokey Stover Velazquez J R 7.85   51 1:42.23  
1
  Sioux Flower Mb Stables Bocachica A 16.90   6hd 1:42.54  
9
  Snake Island Night Mare Racing Lezcano J 7.00   7hd 1:42.57  
8
  Appreciate Mo Mentum Farm Geroux F 13.20   81/2 1:42.61  
10
  Twilight Time Fractious Dettori L 23.25   91/2 1:42.71  
5
  Black Moon Concerto TwinTowersRacing Cedillo A 18.30   101/2 1:42.85  
4
  Class Four Chili King Stables Vazquez R A 42.90   111 1:42.99  
2
  Rupees Arindel Lopez P 16.25   12 1:43.28  


Track: Fast
Time: :231  :464  1:11   1:42

$2 Mutuel Prices:

11 – Niagra Keys 35.00 17.40 6.00
12 – Lucky Star   8.30 2.90
7 – Up She Flew     5.50


$1 Exacta: 11 – 12 Paid 31.90
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 12 – 7 Paid 603.50

Scratched: Liza, Sneaky Panther

— NS

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Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES