The Sands Point (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
AQU- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Eighth on the Inner Turf
October 15, 2022

In The Sands Point, seven three year old fillies went to post, and grabbing the win would be Lady Hilltopper, a horse that never seems to get any respect at the betting window. Ever since arriving at Black N Gold Stable, she has had double digit odds, spanning six races. She’s now won four of them. We did pick Lady Hilltopper in the preview, so it was a surprise to see her go off as the longest shot on the board. In the end, that does not really matter and Black N Gold Stable will take it at whatever the odds might be. It is the trainer’s first win in The Sands Point, and it’s the second win in the race for jockey D Davis. The race was won in a time of 1:46.29, not quite as fast as the only other edition of the race run at AQU (which is also the other race won by D Davis). Let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.19)- The early lead of the race goes to Royalty Stables and his filly, Shrupp, who heads down the frontstretch and into the clubhouse turn with nearly a full length lead over the second place Tessas Star, who is to her outside for Glorify Stables. It’s about a length and a half to Fusion Baby, who is on the rail for Nakamura Stables. Behind her, we have a pair that run side by side, and our eventual winner, Lady Hilltopper is one of them as the Black N Gold Stable filly runs in the second lane. The Nation (Arindel) is on her inside. It’s a length and a half to Ginger Witch (Allinthegate) and about two more to Toxins (London Racing).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.38)- Down the backstretch, Shrupp is still out front, and she is able to put a little distance on Tessas Star as that one now trails by a full length. Midway through the backstretch, Fusion Baby decides that she is done racing for the day, and Lady Hilltopper is able to easily complete the pass of that one to move into third. She was not hindered by that one dropping back in any way, although the same cannot be said for The Nation who had to accommodate her and move off the rail. Ginger Witch had not shown much yet but Toxins was looking like she was planning on making her charge in the turn.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- It’s still Shrupp in front, and she seemed to handle the turn very well, so as she emerged at the top of the stretch still with a length advantage, Royalty Stables had to be feeling pretty good. Tessas Star was still second, but neither gaining ground or losing it. Lady Hilltopper was making progress and runs three wide on exit of the turn and into the stretch. Her deficit is about two and a half length, so she has time but must remain in strong stride. The Nation, meanwhile began dropping back with Fusion Baby. Ginger Witch still was not making a push. However, Toxins was definitely one to watch, running well in the turn, and making a strong run into the stretch. She’s up to fifth, but had a long way to go to get Shrupp.

(Finish- 1:46.29)- Into the stretch, Shrupp is leading and is still running very well. Midway through, things looked very good for her, but in the dying moments, Lady Hilltopper responded with additional run. She’s shown she knows how to pull off a race like this in the stretch, and here she would display plenty of stretch desire to stay with it and get up just in time to pull off the win in a photo with Shrupp. That one takes a hard earned second with the late running Toxins showing plenty in the stretch, but she conceded too much ground early and settles for third. Tessas Star is fourth, followed by The Nation, Ginger Witch, and Fusion Baby.

About The Winner- Lady Hilltopper, trained by Black N Gold Stable and ridden to victory by D Davis, is a three year old filly by Pinnacle West and is out of P O A. She was bred by Our Athletes as a third quarter two year old in Kentucky, and was acquired by Black N Gold Stable in February of this year with a $14.000 claim. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fifth in nine starts and her third stake win, all of which are graded. Her career earnings are now $322.580.

Track: Firm
Time: :47   1:10¹  1:34   1:46¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 2 Paid 71.00
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 2 – 5 Paid 200.90

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES