VALBENNY (Ire) (Val Royal [Fr]) had a lot to overcome in the $100,000
Miesque S.
(G3) at Hollywood Park on Saturday. The juvenile filly was making her
American, stakes and two-turn debut all at once in the grassy mile affair, after
a four-month layoff. As if that were not daunting enough, she was loping along
near the back of the pack as the pacesetter dictated dawdling fractions of :24
2/5, :49 1/5 and 1:13 1/5. None of that mattered to Valbenny, however. Floating
wide when gathering her momentum leaving the far turn, she accelerated smartly
down the center of the course to reel in Mystic Soul (Bahri) by three-quarters
of a length. Trained by Paddy Gallagher and ridden by Alex Solis, the bay
stopped the teletimer in 1:36 2/5 on the firm turf to return $20.60, $10.60 and
$7 at odds of 9-1.
Mystic Soul had taken the lead by the six-furlong marker, and although she
appeared to be swamped in midstretch, fought back along the rail to hold second
by a neck. Sent off as the nearly 3-1 favorite, the runner-up paid $5.20 and $4.
The 10-1 Spenditallbaby (Unusual Heat) sliced between rivals late to snare the
third spot, giving back $5.80. Super Freaky (Smart Strike) ranged up boldly in
midstretch to get within a head of Mystic Soul but couldn’t sustain her move,
flattening out to finish fourth. The $1 exotics were valued at $59.70 (exacta),
$636.70 (trifecta) and $3,668.40 (2-12-6-4 superfecta).
Hucking Hot (GB) (Desert Prince [Ire]), an uncoupled stablemate of the
winner, reported home fifth. Next came Passified (GB) (Compton Place), Brushed
Gold (Touch Gold), Down the Well (Ire) (Mujadil), the early pacesetter Kimmy
Potter (Broken Vow), Onida (Ire) (Noverre), Miss Josiey Wales (GB) (Val Royal
[Fr]) and Foxy Games (GB) (Foxhound).
Valbenny was bred in Ireland by Ken Lynch and sold for $14,000 as a yearling
at the 2005 Goffs February sale. Beginning her career in the care of
Yorkshire-based trainer Alan Swinbank, she broke her maiden in her third start,
a seven-furlong event at Ayr in Scotland, and then shipped to the United States.
Now campaigned by LGL Racing, DiPietro, Lenner at al., Valbenny sports a mark of
4-2-1-0 with $70,153 in earnings.
The first stakes winner from the initial crop of 2001 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1)
hero Val Royal (Fr), Valbenny is out of the stakes-placed Dark Indian (Indian
Ridge).