Dickinson turned a major corner when somewhat belatedly switched to the turf last September, and continued to demonstrate her love for the lawn with a first graded tally here. Stakes-placed sprinting on the dirt early in her 3-year-old season, the well-bred bay cruised to a 4 1/2-length victory at Parx Sept. 6, and earned a solid 99 Beyer Speed Figure when going two-for-two on the grass at Belmont Oct. 20. She was fourth beaten just 1 1/2 lengths last time here behind the re-opposing pair of race favorite Sandiva and Sea Coast (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}).
Away well, Dickinson took up a stalking spot in a joint fourth from the two path behind solid enough splits of :23.43 and :47.27. She was shuffled back a bit in between horses as Sandiva went for an early run outside of her, and seemed to be going the wrong way as they approached the straight. Scrubbed on by Paco Lopez to keep up passing the quarter pole, Dickinson dove to the rail and snuck up the inside under a very good ride to scamper clear.
“They just told me to 'try the best you can. You'll figure out when the gates open,” said the winning pilot. “My race was perfect. I was in perfect position and I wanted to wait because I saw [jockey Javier] Castellano moved a little early [on Sandiva]. When I asked her to run, the rail opened and my filly went flying through there. I got lucky this time. Sometimes you have horse and nowhere to go but this time we got lucky.”
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin added, “[Her last race] was a funny effort. [Previous rider] Johnny Velazquez is not only a great Hall of Fame rider, he's a friend; he just came back and said, 'I couldn't get her to go around the turn.' Thinking back she hadn't gone two turns before, so maybe that helped us today to end up in the winner's circle with this being the second time around two turns. But she is a super nice filly, with a super pedigree. A graded stakes win is very important for her. We'll stay [on the turf]. Maybe she will reward us this year.”
Saturday, Gulfstream
SUWANNEE RIVER S.-GIII, $150,000, GP, 2-11, 4yo/up, f/m,
1 1/8mT, 1:45.38, fm.
1–#@DICKINSON, 119, m, 5, by Medaglia d'Oro
1st Dam: Little Belle (GISW, $666,395), by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Dubai Belle, by Mr. Prospector
3rd Dam: Flagbird, by Nureyev
O-Godolphin Racing LLC; B-Darley (KY); T-Kiaran P. McLaughlin;
J-Paco Lopez. $89,280. Lifetime Record: 12-5-1-2, $274,316.[bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″]Werk Nick Rating: A+++ * Triple Plus* Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Elysea's World (Ire), 118, f, 4, Champs Elysees (GB)–Ideal
World (Ire), by Singspiel (Ire). (€25,000 Ylg '14 AR14). O-Sheep
Pond Partners & All Pro Racing LLC; B-Haras D'Haspel (IRE);
T-Chad C. Brown. $28,800.
3–Sandiva (Ire), 123, m, 6, Footstepsinthesand+%28GB%29">Footstepsinthesand (GB)–Miss
Corinne (GB), by Mark of Esteem (Ire). (£18,000 Ylg '12
DNPRM). O-Al Shaqab Racing; B-Denis McDonnell (IRE); T-Todd
A. Pletcher. $14,400.[bullet ad=”bsw-managed-for-al-shaqab”][bullet ad=”irt-shell”]Margins: 1 1/4, HD, 3/4. Odds: 4.70, 5.20, 1.50.
Also Ran: Puca, Cali Thirty Seven, Goldy Espony (Fr), Sea Coast (Ire), My Sweet Girl, Sharp Kitty. Scratched: Temple Fur.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Pedigree Notes:
Dickinson's dam Little Belle upset the 2008 GI Ashland S. over the Keeneland Polytrack before finishing second in the GI Kentucky Oaks for the McLaughlin barn. She was subsequently transferred to Saeed bin Suroor for a distant second in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks (behind fellow Godolphin colorbearer Music Note {A.P. Indy}) and third in the GI Alabama S. Dickinson's third dam is European highweight Flagbird. This is the female family of Grade I winners Prospectors Delite, Runup the Colors, etc.
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