Ciao Bella wires Rampart

Ciao Bella romped to take her first stakes win (Courtney Heeney/Adam Coglianese Photography)

Michael B. Tabor’s Ciao Bella was much the best as she wired the six-horse
field in the Grade 3, $150,000
Rampart
Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday for her first stakes victory. 

The Todd Pletcher pupil broke from the inside post and dictated the pace by
setting fractions of :24 3/5, :49 1/5 and 1:13. Ciao Bella was under a hand ride
at the top of the stretch and drew away when asked by jockey John Velazquez for
a 4 1/2-length win.

“We knew there wasn’t a lot of speed in there except for Successful Song,”
Velazquez said. “It seemed like she (Successful Song) didn’t want to be on the
lead, so it was pretty easy.”

The four-year-old filly stopped the clock in 1:50 for the 1 1/8-mile contest
over the fast main track.

Authenticity tried to catch her stablemate in the stretch but was no match
and was clearly second best. Ciao Bella was pressured by Successful
Song on the outside through the three-quarter pole but she began to tire and crossed the wire
in third. Go Unbridled, Call the Ten and One Last Dance rounded out the order of
finish.

The 2-5 favorite paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10 to her backers and boosted her
bankroll to $236,960 from a 9-4-2-1 line.

Ciao Bella broke her maiden over this track in December 2011 and did not
return to the races until July of last year while winning an allowance at
Monmouth Park. She stepped up to stakes company a month later, finishing fourth
in the Summer Guest Stakes at Saratoga. The gray’s next four starts were on the
turf, which included a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Garden City at Belmont
and a runner-up in the Grade 3 La Prevoyante Handicap at Calder.