Taylor Stakes (Grade 1)- $600.000 Purse
WO- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Turf
October 18, 2020
Make no mistake, Unmistakable was not one of the favorites in the Taylor Stakes at WO on Sunday. After a disappointing finish in the Rodeo Drive late last month, it was tough to get excited about her in this race. That was not something that the trainer, Mb Stables, was going to let bother him, as he changed up the Commanding filly’s tactics from being on the lead to a more late running style. It would make that much of a difference, and the result is the biggest win of this horses’ career. For Mb, it is his second win in the Taylor Stakes, as he also won in 2018 with Good Line. Aboard the winner was Mar Garcia, and he is a first time winner of the race. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:59.08, making it the fourth quickest running in its history. Let’s take a look.
(½ Mile- :46.82)- From her outside post, and on just eight days of rest, Arindel’s Mrs Nussbaums Credit jumps out to the lead, and after an initial battle with Crocker Ggs-trained Silly Sue, she would open up an advantage of two lengths. Silly Sue, instead of backing up right behind her, elects to drop into a four wide position down the backstretch. To her inside, No Signal (Mb Stables), Beggars Benison (Team 7 Illusions), and Blue Caviar (Waldo) all run side by side, two and a half lengths from the front. Illustrious Cat (John Henry) is next and following Silly Sue, with Tightrope Walker (Diablo Diablo) right beside her, having enjoyed one more day of rest then did Mrs Nussbaums Credit. Perhaps that would be critical. The eventual winner, Unmistakable, for Mb Stables, is running half a length behind them, and is between. Overall, she has a gap of five lengths to make up. Ete Creek (Gdp Inc) is part of this group as well, running on the outside. It’s another half length to Maggie Greene (The Sidley Stud), with the trailers being the winless Faction Paradox (Team 7 Illusions) and Franke (Australia Wide).
(¾ Mile- 1:10.38)- There is not much change in the field as they complete the run down the backstretch and begin to round the turn. It is still Mrs Nussbaums Credit up front by two lengths. Silly Sue decides now to push forward a little bit, moving half a length ahead of those she was running with, but still stuck in the outside lane. A little further back, Illustrious Cat moved down a lane and what this would do is open up a nice clear lane for Unmistakable. She had not begun an advance yet, but she did make a claim to the lane for when she did decide too. Tightrope Walker was also able to get herself into a better position for the stretch.
(Top Of Stretch, 2F To Go)- A lot of action would take place in the turn, and we will start with Mrs Nussbaums Credit, who began to get a little leg weary and was getting swallowed up by the field. Silly Sue would inherit the lead but that did not seem like something that was going to last. During the turn, both Unmistakable and Tightrope Walker make the most of the clear lanes that had set up for them in the turn, and each began making their strong push about midway through the turn, trying not to let the other get ahead of them. Still side by side, they were each a length from the lead. Another horse that looked exceptionally strong in the turn was Maggie Greene. She was behind those two within the turn, but stalked their move, and would not let them get away from her by more than a length. Ete Creek, taking the wide way around the turn was also making a bid, and was only a length or so from the top spot. Blue Caviar was hanging tough while holding her lane, but needed to show a little more response to the runs of the new challengers.
(Finish- 1:59.08)- In the stretch, Unmistakable took over the lead, but Tightrope Walker was very resilient to her inside. A couple times it looked like Unmistakable was going to put her away, but Tightrope Walker hung in there, and it ends up being a photo finish between these two at the wire. Then, there was Maggie Greene, who was strong in the stretch, and looked to come on between the top two. With a little more ground, she would probably have done so, but she is within a neck of the top two with a strong third place effort. Fourth goes to Silly Sue, who fought well to the wire, being Ete Creek, who seemed to be closer to the grandstand at this point than the rail. The too little, too late-running Franke gets sixth, topping Blue Caviar, Investment Return, Illustrious Cat, No Signal, the still a maiden Faction Paradox, Beggars Benison, and can I rest now, Mrs Nussbaums Credit.
About The Winner- Unmistakable, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by Mar Garcia, is a three year old filly by Commanding, and is out of Make No Mistake. She was bred in Florida by Mb Stables as a yearling, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her third in 15 starts, and it is her second stake win. Her career earnings are now $684.000.
Track: Firm
Time: :464 1:101 1:343 1:59
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 5 – 4 Paid 137.90
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 4 – 6 Paid 390.30
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
