Charles E. Fipke’s homebred INTERNALLYFLAWLESS (Giant’s Causeway) broke
through with her career-best performance to take Saturday’s $350,000
Del
Mar Oaks (G1). Taking a big step forward off her fourth in the San Clemente
H. (G2) in her belated reappearance, the Bob Baffert filly made her decisive
move turning for home and safely held off the closing Nan (High Yield) by a
half-length. Internallyflawless completed 1 1/8 grassy miles in 1:49 2/5 to earn
her first stakes victory, returning $15.80, $8.20 and $4.80 as the nearly 7-1
fourth choice.
In the early going, jockey Garrett Gomez positioned Internallyflawless in the
perfect tracking position in second. Up front, the rank outsider
Donttellmewhattodo (Strong Hope) opened up a 4 1/2-length lead through an
opening quarter in :23 4/5, then slowed the tempo down through splits of :49 1/5
and 1:14 3/5. By this time, Internallyflawless had cruised forward to keep tabs
on the pacesetter, and on the far turn, the royally-bred chestnut took command
and drove for home. Nan gave her a brief scare in deep stretch, but the winner
was always doing enough to keep her at bay.
“We didn’t push on her too hard the other day (in the San Clemente),” Gomez
said. “She was coming off that layoff (seven months) and we let her ease back
into it. I was hoping she would jump out of there today and put me in the right
spot. I wanted her to help me and she did. I could tell the way the race was
unfolding that it was just right. I had to come out with her maybe a little
earlier than I wanted to, but it worked out OK. I got a jump and she did the
rest. She’s a nice filly.”
“Chuck Fipke has been very patient with this filly,” Baffert said. “He let me
bring her along the way I thought she should be trained, and she rewarded us
with a Grade 1 win. The program is to win a Grade 1 and we did it here. This
filly has always had a lot of talent.
“Garrett was the difference today. He gave her a perfect ride. He had her in
good position all the way and when the rest of the field started to panic at the
three-eighths pole, he stayed with the plan and then got the jump on the rest of
them. Mr. Fipke sent her to me last year to run on the synthetic, but she turned
out to be a great turf horse.”
Nan outran her 30-1 odds and rewarded her loyalists with $21 and $8.40.
Another length back came even-money favorite Well Monied (Maria’s Mon), who
yielded $2.60 for grabbing third by a head from Hameildaeme (GB) (Storming Home
[GB]). The $1 exotics totaled $143.60 (exacta), $424.80 (trifecta) and $5,782
(1-2-5-8 superfecta). Dreamalong (Rahy) crossed the wire another head back in
fifth and was followed by Starlarks (Ire) (Mujahid), Lexlenos (Ire) (Intikhab),
Strawberry Tart (Atticus), Hermione’s Magic (GB) (Systematic) and
Donttellmewhattodo.
Internallyflawless more than quadrupled her bankroll to $267,400 from her
5-2-1-0 line. Successful in her turf debut, and second start overall, last
September at Santa Anita, she was relegated to the also-eligibles list for the
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and failed to draw into the field.
Internallyflawless made her stakes debut in the Miesque S. (G3) at Hollywood
Park, where she rallied to finish second. She concluded her juvenile season with
an uncharacteristic last-place effort as the 4-5 favorite in the Blue Norther S.
Internallyflawless was sidelined until August 1, when she reappeared in the
aforementioned San Clemente.
The Kentucky-bred is the first foal from the Seeking the Gold mare Tapatina,
who is herself a half-sister to English classic heroine and dual highweight
Bosra Sham (Woodman), French classic victor and highweight juvenile Hector
Protector (Woodman), and French classic winner Shanghai (Procida). Bosra Sham
captured such events as the One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1), Champion S. (Eng-G1)
and Prince of Wales’s S. (Eng-G2), while Hector Protector and Shanghai both took
the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas) (Fr-G1).
Further back, this is the family of the unbeaten English/French highweight
Lammtarra (Nijinsky II), hero of the 1995 Derby (Eng-G1), King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth S. (Eng-G1) and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1).
Internallyflawless has three half-siblings by Perfect Soul (Ire) — an unraced
juvenile filly named Fire into Ice, an unnamed yearling colt and a 2009 colt.
Baffert said that he would point Internallyflawless toward the November 6
Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) at Santa Anita.