The Azeri (Grade 2)- $400.000 Purse
OP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
March 8, 2025

Out at SA, we saw Wasted Away, the winner of the BC Distaff run for the first time in 2025. In the Azeri, we had Wavy Girl, another one that ran in the BC Distaff, make her third start in six weeks. The result: layoff or a busy schedule, it doesn’t matter as they both are winners today. When we last saw Wavy Girl, it was down at GP for the Grade 3 Royal Delta three weeks ago, where she came from near the back to get the win in the closing moments. She would not have to pass as many this time around, and still got the job done. The five-year-old mare is trained by Saratoga Stud and was ridden by M Franco. For each, it is their first win in this race. Congratulations to them! The winning race time in the mud was 1:45.10, let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.51)- Beach Towel surges to the lead for Winning Link Stables and will lead by nearly a length as they begin to make their way around the opening turn. Untidy is next for Mb Stables to her inside, and on the rail the Williams9 entry of Racing Tipster is in third. Sitting just off this lead group by a length and a half or so, we have another group of three. Between horses here is our eventual winner from Saratoga Stud, Wavy Girl, and she has a head in front of Wrong Farm and Decimas Queen, trained respectively by Winning Link Stables and Maxmillion Farm. Starting Over is next for TwinTowersRacing, and the two trailers are Present Tense (Mb Stables) and Nazca Lines (Delta Farms).

(½ Mile- :48.09)- Untidy will take over the top spot in the backstretch, poking a head in front of Beach Towel while Racing Tipster runs right there with them. The next group of three still sees Wavy Girl with the advantage, and she is in a good position here right behind Untidy. Wrong Farm keeps her company to her inside while Decimas Queen tried to stay with them but lost a little bit of ground. Starting Over is directly behind her, and there is a gap of a length and a half to Present Tense, and another length to Nazca Lines.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- By the time they hit the top of the turn, Untidy had pulled clear by a length over the rest of the field, partly because of her own push and partly because of the bottom falling out for Beach Towel. Racing Tipster seemed like she might hang with her but would also begin to tire midway through the turn. This was all good news for Wavy Girl, who hadn’t really begun a push forward until getting closer to the stretch, as it put her into the second spot. Wrong Farm, hoping to break that agonizing winless streak, kept pace, making us wonder if just maybe this was going to be her day. Starting Over was fifth in the middle of the pack but needed to start showing more. Decimas Queen was lacking response while Present Tense was disappointing her supporters. Nazca Lines continued to trail, though looked to make a wide run into the stretch.

(Finish- 1:45.10)- Untidy hung in there until about a furlong to go, where at that point, Wavy Girl and Wrong Farm were clearly in better form. Now, could Wavy Girl hold off Wrong Farm to the wire? Indeed, she would, maintaining her approximate length advantage on that one all the way to the end for her second consecutive victory! Wrong Farm hits the board again but still can’t get that second win. Untidy will snag the third spot, with Starting Over next but never threatening for more. Nazca Lines makes an outside bid, but can only be fifth, topping Present Tense, Decimas Queen, Racing Tipster, and the fatigued Beach Towel.

About The Winner- Wavy Girl, trained by Saratoga Stud and ridden to victory by M Franco, is a five-year-old mare by Declassified and is out of the late Wavy. She was bred by LionKing Stables as a second quarter two-year-old in California and was acquired by Saratoga Stud for $35.000 in a July 2022 private sale while she was still unraced. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her tenth in 22 starts, her eighth stake win and seventh graded win. Her career earnings are now $2,142.200.

Track: Muddy
Time: :23²  :48  1:13  1:45

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 2 Paid 223.60
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 2 – 4 Paid 813.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES