The Lake George (Grade 3)- $175.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile on the Inner Turf
July 22, 2022

In April, Spankys Barn picked up Scalp in a $25.000 claimer, a race that she ended up winning by six lengths. He would not run her right away, and seemingly took the type to take another look at adds, and she would reappear on the track with lasix. She’d win a LS allowance, and now here in the Lake George she would become a graded champion. Quite a turnaround and a job well done by Spankys Barn as the filly has now won three in a row. The victory is the first for Spankys Barn in the Lake George, and that is also true for the jockey, I Ortiz Jr. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:33.55, the second quickest of the races run at exactly a mile. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.33)- Zola breaks the quickest out of the gate, and the Royalty Stables trained filly takes a length and a half lead into the club house turn. Running right behind her are a pair of stalkers, with the eventual winner, Scalp, riding the rail for Spankys Barn. To her outside, and a half length in front of her at this point is Our Last Night, for Mb Stables. London Racing’s Toxins initially broke with that group, but lost some ground to them as they entered the turn. Stacysmomgotitgoinon (Big Jd Racing) was preparing to make a pass of her as they approached the backstretch. At the back of the field, Tequa (Arindel) and Mongolian Khan (Threshold) ran side by side.

(½ Mile- :46.49)- Heading down the backstretch, Zola is still the race leader and has not had anyone attempt to challenge her. Our Last Night was now by herself in the second position, but still had the approximate length and a half to make up, though for the time being she was fully ahead of Scalp. As for that one, I Ortiz Jr was unconcerned with what was going on in front of her, and kept Scalp on the rail, waiting for the right time to strike. Stacysmomgotitgoinon would be the best horse in the backstretch, putting away Toxins and now looking to pull up along the outside of Scalp for third. Behind Toxins, neither Tequa nor Mongolian Khan had shown much yet.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Zola still is in good shape rounding the turn, and enters the stretch with the lead of about a length. Our Last Night was starting to look very good, and at this point, seemed to be the one best positioned to pounce in the stretch and grab the win. However, Scalp was not going away either, and would have to move off the rail now since Zola was still in it. She would have enough room to simply slide into the second lane. Stacysmomgotitgoinon was still in good stride, but did not seem as efficient as those in front of her while running in the turn. If the others were going to be a factor, it was go time.

(Finish- 1:33.55)- Zola would be unable to hold on to her lead pretty quickly in the stretch, and it would be Scalp taking over the top spot with a furlong to go. While you could see that coming, I was more surprised with how easily she also completed the pass of Our Last Night. In the fourth lane, Stacysmomgotitgoinon got it going on again as soon as they hit the top of the stretch, and resume hitting a strong stride. However, the turn would do her in when it came to catch Scalp. For Scalp, she would end up earning a win by a length, with Stacysmomgotitgoin on completing your exacta. It was close for third as a very tight photo put Our Last Night ahead of Zola and the you need to start your stretch run sooner, Mongolian Khan. Toxins was next with the post time favorite, Tequa, proving to be a major disappointment.

About The Winner- Scalp, trained by Spankys Barn and ridden to victory by I Ortiz Jr, is a three year old filly by Rumble and is out of Never Doubted. She was bred in California as a third quarter two year old, and was acquired by the trainer, via D J C Racing Stables, with a $25.000 claim this April. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fourth in eight starts, and her first stake win of any type. Her career earnings improve to $170.210.

Track: Firm
Time: :23¹  :46²  1:09³  1:33²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 5 Paid 108.60
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 5 – 4 Paid 1,353.20

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES