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Magnificent Song is resounding Garden City winner After rating patiently while last in the 11-horse field, L & D Farms' MAGNIFICENT SONG (Unbridled's Song) produced a blistering turn of foot in the stretch to capture Saturday's $246,000 Garden City Breeders' Cup S. (G1) at Belmont Park. With Garrett Gomez in the irons, the Todd Pletcher filly strode out a convincing two-length winner, stopping the teletimer in 1:48 2/5 for nine furlongs on the good inner turf. In the early going, Quite a Bride (Stormy Atlantic) gunned to the front from her outside post and managed to cross over to the hedge through a first quarter in a taxing :23 1/5. As she continued to show the way through splits of :47 and 1:11 4/5, Quite a Bride was tracked by Maxxi Arte (Ire) (Danehill Dancer) and French raider Chaibia (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), with the eventual winner cantering comfortably toward the tail of the field. Leaving the far turn, the pacesetter was soon submerged in a sea of challengers. Foremost among them was Take the Ribbon (Chester House), who grabbed the advantage from a battling Maxxi Arte, but the gray blur on the outside was a streaking Magnificent Song. In a matter of strides, she stormed past the bulk of the field and set her sights on Take the Ribbon. Despite running on her left lead, Magnificent Song quickly overhauled that rival and kept up her dazzling momentum to the wire. "The more she has raced, the more professional she has gotten," Gomez said. "She put me where I needed to be. She's really got an honest kick. She has really progressed this year." "She is improving each time," Pletcher likewise noted. "The better she is settled early on, the bigger her late kicks come. The ground seems a little on the soft side, and I was a little concerned that we would get too far back. But when they went :23 and change, that helped. That was big; a Grade 1 win for her with her pedigree is terrific." Take the Ribbon stayed on gamely for second, a half-length ahead of a belatedly rallying Jade Queen (Giant's Causeway), the winner's stablemate who gave Pletcher a one-three finish. Another three-quarters of a length back in fourth came the one-paced Chaibia. Crossing the wire next were the closely bunched Maxxie Arte, La Mottie (GB) (King's Best), Quite a Bride, Carriage Trail (Giant's Causeway) and Delmarva (Unbridled's Song), trailed a long way by May Night (Gulch) and In Return (Horse Chestnut [SAf]). Dispatched as the favorite at nearly 3-1, Magnificent Song returned $7.70, $3.70 and $2.70. Take the Ribbon paid $5.20 and $3.90 at 5-1, while Jade Queen gave back $4.60 at odds approaching 7-1. The exotics were worth $34.60 (exacta), $146.50 (trifecta) and $502 (7-9-5-1 superfecta). Built like a greyhound, Magnificent Song was posting her third career stakes victory and her first at the Grade 1 level, advancing her record to 9-5-1-1 with a bankroll of $394,924. In her previous start, she deployed a similar last-to-first burst to capture the Lake George S. (G3) at Saratoga. Earlier this season, the filly landed the Edgewood S. at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks (G1) day, then was literally beaten into submission when second in the June 17 Regret S. (G3) to the outstanding Lady of Venice (Fr) (Loup Solitaire), who bumped Magnificent Song as she barged her way through in upper stretch. Bred by ClassicStar in Kentucky, the winner was acquired by her current connections for $625,000 as a yearling at the 2004 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. Magnificent Song is out of the Storm Cat mare Song to Remember, who is herself a half-sister to multiple Grade 3 victor Lech (Danzig), Grade 3 heroine Savina (Nijinsky II) and stakes winner and Grade 2-placed Crimson Guard (Danzig). Song to Remember has also produced a yearling colt by Mr. Greeley and two full sisters to the winner, an unraced juvenile named Unbridled Duet and a 2006 filly. Magnificent Song's future targets depend on Pletcher's plans for his other Grade 1-winning turf star, American Oaks Invitational S. (G1) and Lake Placid S. (G2) heroine Wait a While (Maria's Mon). Contrary to his first inclination to run Wait a While in the October 14 Queen Elizabeth II Invitational Challenge Cup S. (G1), Pletcher said that he may opt for the October 7 Flower Bowl Invitational S. (G1) because it would give her four weeks to regroup for the Breeders' Cup on November 4. "We'll see how everyone comes out of this race and go from here," the horseman added.
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