Hendrie Stakes (Grade 3)- $125.000 Purse
WO- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
Six and a Half Furlongs on the Dirt
June 9, 2019

We have not seen much of Tulia at the race track this year, but after the Hendrie she sure knows how to make the most of those starts, winning for the second time in her two races of 2019. She was coming into the race off of a three month layoff, and this is the main reason we looked past her when making our picks. It was also her graded debut and she was working well coming into the race. The one we did pick, Eros, ended up being a late scratch in this race. Back to Tulia, her trainer, Crocker Ggs earns their first win in the stake. Jockey R M Hernandez wins for the second time, and its their second consecutive win as well. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:15.65, the third quickest in the stakes history. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :22.91)- As the race gets underway, our eventual winner Tulia, out of Crocker Ggs, and Laffin At Ya, for Chili King Stables emerge as the quickest two out of the gate and have a battle between them to determine the early leader. After a quarter mile, it is Laffin At Ya who gets credit with the lead with a slight advantage. They are in a similar two-by-two orderly fashion behind them, with Returned (Axeman) and The Reaper (John Henry) stalking them side by side, and Plucky Riddle (Tiratzo) and Miss Myers (Oquinn Farm) another two lengths back.

(½ Mile- :45.70; Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Finishing the backstretch run and going around the turn, Tulia says “see you later” to Laffin At Ya and quickly opens up the advantage as they reach the exit of the turn. By the time we are the top of the stretch, Tulia may have gotten away, as she has a commanding two and a half length lead. Laffin At Ya was still second but was caught by Returned, who was now on her outside. The Reaper and Miss Myers looked to take it four wide. Trailing was post time favorite Plucky Riddle, who was four and a half lengths out, and surely had run out of time to make a move, right?

(Finish- 1:15.65)- With a furlong to go, it seemed like the wire was there waiting for the inevitable and for Tulia to pick up the win. Plucky Riddle, however, had other ideas. She had a good opening on the rail which she used to her advantage, but even at this point she still had three lengths to make up on Tulia. In the stretch, Plucky Riddle was very impressive, coming on very powerfully and suddenly making Crocker Ggs very nervous. A photo would be needed to determine the winner, and in the end Tulia had just hung on for the victory by a head. Plucky Riddle certainly made it interesting, and gets second. Miss Myers ran well in the stretch, too, and grabs the third spot. Returned had an uneventful day, but gets a fourth place check to show for it. Laffin At Ya and The Reaper round it ou.

About The Winner- Tulia, trained by Crocker Ggs and ridden to victory by R M Hernandez, is a four year old filly by Model American, and is out Melisandre. She was bred in Ontario by Night Mare Racing as a first quarter two year old, and was acquired in the March 2017 auction, unraced, for $160.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fourth in 15 starts, and is her first stake win of any type. Her career earnings are now $233.130.

Track: Fast
Time: :22⁴  :45³  1:09¹  1:15³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 3 Paid 5.20
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 3 – 7 Paid 19.40

Scratched: Eros(L)

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES