Anne Poulson’s LOVE MATCH (Partner’s Hero) took the lead out of the gate in
Sunday’s $150,000
Matchmaker S. (G3) at Monmouth Park and was never headed en
route to a one-length win under Javier Castellano. Sent off the second-longest
shot on the board at 27-1, the bay mare rewarded her faithful backers with
payouts of $56.60, $19.60 and $9.80 while keying the $522.80 exacta and $3,662
trifecta (2-5-6).
Despite Castellano dropping the left rein at the start, Love Match set splits
of :24, :50 1/5, 1:14 3/5 and 1:38 2/5 before completing 1 1/8 miles on the firm
turf in 1:50 1/5. The John Kimmel trainee was tracked throughout by Cat Alert
(Tabasco Cat), who finished in that same spot to pay $9.20 and $7 at 9-1.
Emerald Earrings (Helmsman) also crossed under the line in the same spot in
which she ran the race, third, and was worth $8.60 at 6-1 for coming in a
half-length farther back. Spotlight (GB) (Dr Fong), the even-money favorite,
just missed third by a nose and was followed by Smart N Classy (Smart Strike),
Classic Stamp (Regal Classic), Topiary (Arch), Humoristic (Sefapiano), Briviesca
(GB) (Peintre Celebre) and Noble Stella (Ger) (Monsun).
Love Match earned her first stakes victory with this win and now owns a
14-5-0-4 career record that also includes a third in the Maryland Million Ladies
S. from last year. The five-year-old mare nearly doubled her earnings to $185,690
with the winner’s share and is out of the winning For Love Alone (L’Enjoleur).
She was bred in Maryland by her owner and Hare Forest Farm.