My Miss Lilly earned her black-type badge and stamped her ticket to the GI Kentucky Oaks May 4 with a determined effort in Aqueduct's GII Gazelle S. Saturday. Away alertly from the outside post in this six-horse affair, the 5-2 shot settled in a two-wide fourth as Sara Street and Mo Shopping (Uncle Mo) dueled through an opening quarter in :23.97 and a half in :48.31. Launching a three-wide bid on the backstretch, the $670,000 KEESEP buy drew even with Sara Street and Virginia Key in the lane and the trio battled to the wire with My Miss Lilly edging clear late for a narrow victory. The ultra-game Sarah Street held for second over longshot Virginia Key and favored Midnight Disguise (Midnight Lute) came on for fourth.
“She's a filly we've always been looking forward to getting around two turns,” winning trainer Mark Hennig said. “She had to go a little wide coming off that turn and I was worried about that–that it might catch up to her late–but I feel like she'll really relish more and more distance. Like Joe [Bravo] said, she felt like she could've run around there again. She was very strong.”
As for the Oaks, Hennig said, “We'll discuss it and she how she comes out of the race.”
Linda Rice, trainer of beaten favorite Midnight Disguise, said, “This performance was disappointing. The speed didn't break and they went pretty slow. I don't know how much that was a factor, but either way I think it was a subpar effort for her. Up to this point she's fired every time we've lead her over here and today wasn't her day.”
My Miss Lilly captured her debut sprinting in the slop at Aqueduct Dec. 23 and was third next out in the GIII Forward Gal S. at Gulfstream Feb. 3. She was last seen completing the trifecta behind Midnight Disguise and Sara Street in this venue's one-mile Busher S. Mar. 3.
Pedigree Notes:
My Miss Lilly is the 66th graded winner and 107th black-type winner for leading sire Tapit. Her dam Wicked Deed concluded her career for Winchell Thoroughbreds with a victory in the 2011 Tiffany Lass S. The 10-year-old mare has produced four winners from four foals to race, including GII Adirondack S. winner Just Wicked (Tapit). Wicked Deed has a 2-year-old colt by Tapit and failed to get back in foal to the Gainesway stallion the following year, but visited him once again last spring.
GAZELLE S.-GII, $300,000, AQU, 4-7, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:50.42, ft.
1–MY MISS LILLY, 114, f, 3, by Tapit&log=">Tapit
1st Dam: Wicked Deed {SW}, by Harlan's Holiday
2nd Dam: Marfa's Squall, by Marfa
3rd Dam: Western Squall, by Gone West
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($670,000
Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald and Donna
Adam); B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Mark A. Hennig;
J-Joe Bravo. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-2, $255,400.
*Full to Just Wicked, GSW, $208,460. Werk Nick Rating: A+++
*Triple Plus. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”gainesway-consigned-by”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″]2–Sara Street, 114, f, 3, Street Sense–Sara Louise, by Malibu
Moon. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Kiaran P. McLaughlin. $60,000.
3–Virginia Key, 116, f, 3, Distorted Humor–Our Khrysty, by
Newfoundland. ($90,000 RNA Ylg '16 KEESEP). O/B-Blue
Heaven Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $30,000.
Margins: HF, NK, 12 1/4. Odds: 2.95, 5.60, 20.90.
Also Ran: Midnight Disguise, Mo Shopping, Smokinpaddylassie. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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