Appalachian (Grade 2)- $400.000 Purse
KEE- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile on the Turf
April 9, 2022

After four wins in six races in sprints, Arindel could have kept Tequa running in races like that, but he would have bigger aspirations for his Copper Beast filly. Tequa had been working at a mile often to get ready for the race, and when it came time to hit the track, this filly with a great winning percentage would do it again. It was close at the wire between her and Demanding Commander, but Tequa would prevail, giving Arindel his second consecutive win in the Appalachian. Jockey J C Ferrer is a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The winning time was 1:33.14, the third quickest in the race’s history. Here’s a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.28)- The three horses starting on the outside would be the quickest from the gate, and as we move around the opening turn, State Caviar, from Smokey Stover, is the best of the group, and leads by half a length. Believe In Miracles runs second as she is able to get to the rail for TwinTowersRacing, and between them, it’s the Mb Stables- trained I Love Me. A couple lengths behind them is where we find our eventual winner, Arindel’s Tequa. She is running side by side with Im Ugly For Sure, who is out of Bigchief Stables. It’s about a length and a half more to the trailer, Hippyheart’s Demanding Commander.

(½ Mile- :46.38)- Moving down the backstretch, State Caviar pulls away from her rivals a bit, with a clear cut advantage of a length and a half. The two that had been running beside her are content to now serve as stalkers as I Love Me and Believe In Miracles keep her in sight. Tequa starts to show a little more interest at the end of the backstretch, and is potentially positioned for a strong three wide move within the turn. Im Ugly For Sure hasn’t shown much yet, and Demanding Commander starts looking to get involved.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- State Caviar remains the leader around the turn and into the stretch, but she’s going to have some work to do in order to keep that lead. Within the turn, Tequa would indeed push three wide, although she went a little more to the outside than she probably had too, and that would allow Demanding Commander to have a nice lane. The two of them cut into their deficit significantly, and Tequa now runs second, a length from the lead. Demanding Commander was beginning to pass I Love Me for third. Meanwhile, Believe In Miracles was calling it a day and Im Ugly For Sure may have been too busy looking in the mirror.

(Finish- 1:33.14) – With a furlong to go, Tequa would complete the pass off State Caviar for the lead, but her concern was Demanding Commander who was pushing forward to her inside, and was now only half a length back. With still plenty of time left, it looked like Demanding Commander was going to get it done but Tequa would show tremendous heart. She would simply not back down, showing the kind of stretch desire that everyone would love to see in a racehorse, and why she had won four of six coming into the race. That would allow her to hold off Demanding Commander, who also worked hard. Both of these will be seen again and are ones to watch! As they battled, the rest of the field was left well behind as third place State Caviar was beaten by two and a half lengths and it was more to the rest of the field: I Love Me, Im Ugly For Sure, and Believe In Miracles.

About The Winner- Tequa, trained by Arindel, and ridden to victory by J C Ferrer, is a three year old filly by Copper Beast and is out of Pink Poppy. She was bred in New Jersey by Childs Play as a yearling, and was acquired by Arindel while she was still unraced in the December 2020 auction for $11.010. The win is her fifth in seven starts, her third stake win, and second graded win. Her career earnings are now $391.980.

Track: Firm
Time: :23¹  :46¹  1:09²  1:33

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 2 Paid 16.70
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 2 – 6 Paid 52.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES