The Prioress (Grade 2)- $250.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies Three Years Old
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
September 3, 2017
The 2017 running of the Prioress represented an intriguing battle of highly successful fillies based on their career winning percentages, and the winner would take a tremendous step forward towards being able to compete in the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint, should the trainer choose to do so. Heavy rains made the track muddy, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm for the race. It looked to be a wide open affair, and we gave the nod here to Temple of The Brave, running for Crocker Ggs. The filly would not let her trainer down, as she picked up the second graded victory of her career, as well as winning for the fourth time in five starts. For the trainer, it is their first Prioress win, and the same holds true for the jockey, D Moran. Congratulations to them! The time of the win in the mud was 1:11.55. Note that Darling Smile ended up being a late scratch for the race. Let’s take a look at how it went down!
(1/4 Mile- :22.98)- Right out of the gate, Temple Of The Brave jumped right out to the lead for her trainer, Crocker Ggs, showing no signs of being bothered by the mud. To her outside, French Connection, from D J C Racing Stables, also got off to a good start, making the trip down the backstretch all about these two. Temple Of The Brave led by about half a length as they hit a quarter mile. Running third would be Fuego Kruzin for Ekli Stable, and as the field moved into the turn that one would catch up to French Connection for the second position. Canadian Folk would mind her own business in the fourth position, sitting a length behind them for Team 7 Illusions as she seemed to content to run her race. Toleration was four lengths out in fifth for Mb Stables. At the back and appearing sluggish at the start was the longshot out of Mcl Stables, Crazy Charge.
(½ Mile- :46.29, Top of stretch)- Temple Of The Brave left the field in her tracks as they moved around the turn. There was simply no one better, and by the time they hit the top of the stretch, she had pulled out to a lead of over two lengths. Clearly, this filly was having no problems with the mud and may have been enjoying it! The new second place horse at this point would be Canadian Folk, who seemed to emerge with this spot moreso because French Connection was awful in the turn, and Fuego Kruzin was not doing much cruising at that point either. Those two now dropped three lengths from the lead. Canadian Folk did not seem to be gaining ground, and seemed to just be maintaining her position. Toleration was preparing to make a move, but had to swing out four wide in order to do so. At the back, Crazy Charge would need to live up to her name in the stretch to have a shot.
(Final- 1:11.55)- Thanks to jumping out to such a big lead moving into the stretch, Temple Of The Brave simply needed to maintain a steady stride to the wire, and she was able to do so. Her win was rather comfortable, and while a couple did get closer to her, they were going to run out of race track. Toleration was looking good while rounding the turn, but there was simply too much ground for her to make up at this point. She may have been a little surprised to see the finish line come up so soon as well, and ends up second. Canadian Folk put forth some additional skip in her stride when Toleration got to her outside, but her fight was only going to be for second, but winds up third. The other three ran side by side by side, but well out of contention. Crazy Charge gets up for fourth, over Fuego Kruzin, then French Connection.
About the winner: Temple Of The Brave, trained by Crocker Ggs and ridden by D Moran, is a three year old filly by Brave Decision and out Temple Of Isis. She was bred in Ontario as a second quarter two year old by Heavens Own, and acquired by Crocker Ggs in the June 2016 auction with just one uneventful start to her credit, for the bargain price of $16.670. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her sixth in 13 career starts, and her second graded stake victory. Her career earnings now sit at $401.680.
| ## | Horse Name | Owner Name | Jockey | Odds | Fin | Time | SRF | |||
|
Temple Of The Brave | Crocker Ggs | Moran D | 5.40 | 11/2 | 1:11.55 | ||||
|
Toleration | Mb Stables | Velazquez J R | 1.15 | 21 | 1:11.68 | ||||
|
Canadian Folk | Team 7 Illusions | Castellano J J | 2.20 | 32 | 1:11.93 | ||||
|
Crazy Charge | Mcl Stables | Ortiz J L | 14.40 | 41/2 | 1:12.35 | ||||
|
Fuego Kruzin | Ekli Stable | Albarado R J | 14.75 | 51/4 | 1:12.46 | ||||
|
French Connection | D J C Racing Stables | Ortiz I Jr | 7.50 | 6 | 1:12.55 |
Track: Muddy
Time: :224 :461 :582 1:112
$2 Mutuel Prices:
| 5 – Temple Of The Brave | 12.80 | 4.40 | 2.10 |
| 3 – Toleration | 3.80 | 2.10 | |
| 2 – Canadian Folk | 2.10 |
$1 Exacta: 5 – 3 Paid 14.20
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 3 – 2 Paid 32.70
Scratched: Darling Smile(L)
Claimed:
None
#5 Temple Of The Brave started in PP4.
#7 Crazy Charge started in PP6.
#6 French Connection started in PP5.
Winner, Exacta, and Trifecta Picked by NS
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
