Whoa, Betty!

The stretch-running Include Betty (Include), a solid second after closing into a very slow early pace in the GII Black-Eyed Susan S. at Pimlico May 15, rallied from last-to-first to post an impressive 3 1/4-length victory in the GI Mother Goose S. at Belmont Park Saturday. The chestnut, owned in partnership by Brereton C. Jones and Timothy Thornton and trained by Tom Proctor, trailed the field early behind scorching early fractions of :22.66 and :45.50. With Drayden Van Dyke in town for the ride, the 5-1 chance picked up the chase approaching the far turn. Spun six wide turning for home, she stormed down the center of the course to gain command in midstretch and powered home to win for fun. Favored Wonder Gal (Tiz Wonderful) won the photo from Chide (Blame) for second. “It was a perfect trip,” Van Dyke said. “I know they were going fast up front and I knew this long stretch should really help her out, she makes that nice little last run and I knew it’d work out just perfect for her.”

Include Betty, a maiden winner at Tampa at fourth asking Jan. 31, followed up with a narrow come-from-behind win at 18-1 in that track’s Suncoast S. Jan. 31. Fifth in the grassy GIII Florida Oaks Mar. 7, she survived a stewards’ inquiry in a roughly run renewal of the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn Apr. 4, then never got a serious chance to run when eighth in the GI Kentucky Oaks May 1. Include Betty ran out of real estate in the Baltimore equivalent last time. Van Dyke has been aboard Include Betty in her two most recent starts. “I don’t think she’ll have any problems stretching out further, Tom [Proctor] and I were saying she’s a filly that really doesn’t like to be hit a whole lot so it’s more just getting along with her and keeping her happy,” he said.

Include Betty’s dam Betty’s Solutions–a $17,000 KEEJAN broodmare purchase by Lavin Bloodstock Services in 2004–has a 2-year-old filly by Haynesfield and a weanling filly by Proud Citizen.

Wonder Gal, tabbed as a ‘TDN Rising Star’ after airing in her debut in Belmont’s Lynbrook S. last July, earned her fourth Grade I placing in the Mother Goose.

“I thought she ran well,” trainer Leah Gyarmati said. “She really showed a lot of guts running it out for second. For a minute there in the stretch, it looked like we may be nowhere. She broke really well. Things worked out, with horses on the inside of her, that she got to relax and sit back a little bit. We had to kind of keep going a little bit more than we wanted to when that other horse came over and made a little start. We would’ve liked to have been able to relax a little longer.”