The Starlet (Grade 1) (KYO)- $300.000 Purse
LA- For Fillies Two Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
December 9, 2017
Confidently In Love would prove to the best at the 15th running of The Starlet at LA. With the win, she accomplishes the same thing as Snow Peak did last year for the same trainer, but that’s about where the early careers of each filly stop paralleling. Snow Peak, due to conformational issues, was raced heavily as a two year old in a strategy that worked very well for Mb Stables. Confidently In Love has been the opposite, a filly that was brought on a little more methodically. Both have been winners, and for Confidently In Love this win represents the third in her five career starts, after breaking her maiden in the Grade 1 DMR Debutante. For Mb Stables himself, this win represents the third straight year that he has won the race. It’s also the third win for R Bejarano in the race, but the first time the two teamed up for a win. Congratulations to them! The winning time was 1:41.93, the second quickest of the four races that have been held at LA. Let’s take a look at it!
(1/4 Mile- :23.69)- Breaking well out of the gate were those in the outermost, with First Class Stables’ Fear The Greatness looking particular good early. Pressing her a little initially before dropping back a few lengths was Quiver Pond, from Estero Farms. As they moved around the turn, then, it was Fear The Greatness leading by a length now over Rainy Day Woman (John Henry) and Amen Sista (D J C Racing Stables) as those two also start well. After the now fourth place Quiver Pond, Free Jones (Mb Stables) runs to the outside fifth while stablemate Levi Broom matched her stride along the rail. Nice Az (Aer Stables) keeps the field in sight ahead of her while running seventh. Our eventual winner, Confidently In Love, from Mb Stables, looked a bit restrained in the early going. Appearing to miss the break entirely was Allinthegate’s Learning Curve.
(½- :47.11)- As the field moves down the backstretch, there is very little that changes. Fear The Greatness maintains her advantage of about a length and a half. Behind her, Quiver Pond has gone back up to battle Rainy Day Woman and Amen Sista, and they are now three wide for second. Towards the end of the backstretch run, Free Jones looked as though she might make it four wide. Levi Broom needed to find room to strike as well to avoid being boxed in. Nice Az ran a length behind them, with it another length to Confidently In Love, who ran five and a half off the pace into the turn. Learning Curve continued to trail.
(Top Of Stretch- 2.0 F To Go)- Moving their way around the turn, things seemed to a little slower to develop then we may normally see. Fear The Greatness continued to lead, but Quiver Pond was now beginning to reel her in just a bit. Meanwhile, Rainy Day Woman began to drop out of it. Between them, Amen Sista was third, still with that length and a half deficit to the leader as the case had been most of the way. Levi Broom now became the one to look for the wide move in the turn, and an aggressive move by Nice Az, who was probably the most assertive runner on exit of the stretch, saw her potentially look for a five wide path. Free Jones, who seemed to be the one destined for this trip, lacked response and faded back. Confidently In Love moved up just a bit, but it was still unclear at the point how she would make her winning move. Somewhere back there, was Learning Curve as well.
(Finish- 1:41.93)- At the top of the stretch, and early on in the stretch run, Confidently In Love simply seemed to have a little more skip to her step then anyone else in the field. It was not an emphatic move forward, but she was clearly looking better then any of her rivals. Levi Broom, about midway through seemed to find a second wind, and Nice Az ran well to the wire, surprising me a little bit, but was good to see. As they got close, it looked she might end up as the winner, but Confidently In Love responded well to the new challenges from these two, and held on for the win. Nice Az and Levi Broom finish your trifecta. Quiver Pond hung in there pretty well, and has nothing to be ashamed of either, in the fourth place run, and Fear The Greatness may have deserved a better finish then the one that sees her be the first without a check. Amen Sista and Rainy Day Woman go sixth and seven, each with satisfactory runs. Free Jones was poor in the second half, and the learning curve continues for Learning Curve.
About The Winner: Confidently In Love, trained by Mb Stables and ridden by R Bejarano, is a two year old filly by Im Too Confident, and out of For Love (by Diplomatic Immunity). She was bred in Ontario as a yearling by Mb Stables, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her third in five career starts, and all of those wins have been in Grade 1 stakes. Her career earnings are now $602.880.
| ## | Horse Name | Owner Name | Jockey | Odds | Fin | Time | SRF | |||
|
Confidently In Love | Mb Stables | Bejarano R | 2.80 | 1nk | 1:41.93 | — | |||
|
Nice Az | Aer Stables | Alvarado J | 11.20 | 21/2 | 1:42.00 | — | |||
|
Levi Broom | Mb Stables | Ortiz I Jr | 2.15 | 3hd | 1:42.10 | — | |||
|
Quiver Pond | Estero Farms | Albarado R J | 17.90 | 43/4 | 1:42.14 | — | |||
|
Fear The Greatness | First Class Stable | Pennington F | 7.85 | 51 | 1:42.33 | — | |||
|
Amen Sista | D J C Racing Stables | Velazquez J R | 11.30 | 61/2 | 1:42.54 | — | |||
|
Rainy Day Woman | John Henry | Husbands P | 6.30 | 72 | 1:42.68 | — | |||
|
Free Jones | Mb Stables | Leparoux J R | 15.45 | 81 | 1:43.12 | — | |||
|
Learning Curve | Allinthegate | Van Dyke D | 12.30 | 9 | 1:43.33 | — |
Track: Fast
Time: :233 :47 1:103 1:414
$2 Mutuel Prices:
| 6 – Confidently In Love | 7.60 | 4.20 | 2.60 |
| 2 – Nice Az | 8.90 | 4.00 | |
| 1 – Levi Broom | 2.50 |
$1 Exacta: 6 – 2 Paid 28.90
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 2 – 1 Paid 63.60
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
