Cotillion Stakes (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
PRX- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
September 23, 2023
Every year, the Cotillion can be counted on for having a great field that will send several runners to the BC Distaff. That won’t be any different this year, and winning the race can be a great way to make a statement that you should be one of the favorites for that race. Holding that distinction will be Wavy Girl, who was the post time favorite going in. She had come into the Cotillion fresh off a win in the Hirsch Stakes and remains hot with this victory! Overall, Wavy Girl has now won six of her last seven races, so you have to think she will be one of the top choices for the BC Distaff in six weeks. She is trained by Saratoga Stud, who scored his first Cotillion win. That is also true for jockey P Lopez. Congratulations to them! The race went in a time of 1:43.54 on the track listed as good. That ran did lead to some scratches as Blind Appeal, Groovy, and Lucky Star all decided to try their luck another day. Let’s take a look at how the race was run!
(1/4 Mile- :22.92)- Jumping out to the lead will be Snake Island, and the Night Mare Racing filly will have an uncontested length lead as she goes around the first turn. Assuming the stalking position are Celine, who runs on the rail for D J C Racing Stables, as well as Maxmillion Farm’s Queen Evade Party, who takes the third lane. The next group is led by Smokey Stover’s The Hateful Eight, who runs between Ignore Tucker (Fractious) and Scarlett Dream (Arindel) while having a head in front of them. La Roo (Our Athletes) runs directly behind The Hateful Eight. Towards the back, we have Muddy Buddy (Mb Stables), and then our eventual winner Saratoga Stud’s Wavy Girl. Right now, she is four and a half lengths off the lead while running on the rail. Trailing are Yow (Royalty Stables) and Victorious Secret (Acber Farms).
(1/2 Mile- :46.84)- It did appear like Queen Evade Party might make a bigger push to the front when we were at a quarter mile, and it was not very long after that point when she did exactly that. Now, she is all by herself while leading the field down the backstretch. Snake Island is still running well, and is second still, while Scarlett Dream makes an advance and is now mostly even with her for that spot. Celine has lost a length to them but remains ahead of both Ignore Tucker and The Hateful Eight. Further back, Wavy Girl and pulled even with La Roo, and starts to look for her lane to push forward even more. Muddy Buddy is in the vicinity to them, though Yow and Victorious Secret are further back.
(Top of The Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- The action is pretty good up front, as Snake Island looks to recapture the top spot away from Queen Evade Party while Scarlett Dream keeps pace with the two of them. This trio enters the top of the stretch battling it out and leading the rest of the field by a length. The bad news for them as the newest challenger they would be dealing with is the red-hot Wavy Girl, who made a strong move in the turn, and was now prepared to go four wide around them. Both Ignore Tucker and The Hateful Eight were preparing even wide trips, and Celine still stayed stuck to the rail without really showing much spark though also not losing ground. La Roo was next, and Yow finally got going from the back, passing Muddy Buddy. Victorious Secret still was not doing much.
(Finish- 1:43.54)- It didn’t take long for Wavy Girl to complete her pass for the lead once in the stretch, and with still over a furlong to go, she was now out front. With the way that she was running, it would take a masterful effort for another challenger to get her, so Saratoga Stud was ready to chalk up another win for his filly. The rest of the stretch run would only cement her case as being the class of the field, going on to win this race by half a second. Snake Island and Scarlett Dream will dead heat for second, and the fourth-place spoils go to the late running Yow, who may have waited a little too long to start her run. Ignore Tucker is next, ahead of the finally started to run way too late, Victorious Secret. Rounding it out are the tiring Queen Evade Party, then Muddy Buddy, Celine, La Roo, with being number eight not helping The Hateful Eight.
About The Winner- Wavy Girl, trained by Saratoga Stud and ridden to victory by P Lopez, is a three-year-old filly by Declassified, and is out of Wavy. She was bred by LionKing Stables in California as a second quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Saratoga Stud in private sales for $35.000 in July 2022 while she was still unraced. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her sixth in 10 starts, her fourth stake win and third graded win. Her career earnings are now $1,119.200.
Track: Good
Time: :224 :464 1:113 1:432
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 2 – 10 Paid 27.90, 2 – 11 Paid 10.30
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 10 – 11 Paid 171.70, 2 – 11 – 10 Paid 684.00
Scratched: Blind Appeal, Groovy, Lucky Star
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
