Wishing Gate, who like her dam is trained by Tom Proctor, had broken her
Up front, Unusual Way was reeling off splits of :22 2/5, :46 and 1:10 on the
Angling out for the drive, Wishing Gate took aim on Unusual Way and
|
“It sure is great to be winning at the highest level,” Stevens said. “That’s why I came back.
To win one at Del Mar is special. And I know this track is special for Mr.
(Leonard) Lavin (owner of Glen Hill Farm). I know he’s somewhere today —
probably Chicago — watching this and I’m sure it made him happy.”
“That ride was perfect,” Proctor said. “You couldn’t ask for a better trip.
It’s a pretty fair turf course. I didn’t think about the pace. I don’t think a
whole lot. I just hope for the best.”
Unusual Way finished second by 1 1/4 lengths from Iotapa, who ran evenly in
third. Charlie Em reported home fourth, and Judy in Disguise, Lilbourne Eliza,
Disko Dasko, Miss Empire and Kyriaki concluded the order of finish. Foxy Boss,
one of a trio of James Cassidy entrants along with Lilbourne Eliza and Disko
Dasko, was withdrawn. The also-eligible Broken Sword was already scratched.
Wishing Gate rewarded her backers with a $12 win mutuel, and nearly doubled
her own bankroll to $185,344 from her 8-3-2-0 record. The bay filly had taken
the same Chicago-to-Del Mar route a year ago. After a rallying fourth in her
debut sprinting five furlongs over Arlington Park’s Polytrack, Wishing Gate
shipped to Del Mar for her aforementioned maiden score. She was a troubled
eighth next time in the Oak Tree Juvenile Fillies Turf, but bounced back with a
runner-up effort in the Surfer Girl at Santa Anita in October.
Making her sophomore debut in an April 21 Keeneland allowance, Wishing Gate
had to check in traffic when trying to close off a tepid pace, and ended up
eighth. Stevens said that he “butchered” that first ride aboard the filly, and
was glad to have the opportunity to set things right on Sunday.
“This gets me right — this redeems me,” Stevens said. “I rode this filly in
an allowance race at Keeneland this spring and I absolutely butchered her. Cost
her the race, for sure. So to win this one today on her helps make up for that
one. She’s a good filly and she’s progressing.”
Wishing Gate raced twice in the interim, both at Arlington. A late-running
second on May 18, she profited from stalking tactics to capture an entry-level
allowance last time out on June 23.
The Florida-bred scored the Del Mar graded win that had eluded her dam. Rich
in Spirit was fifth in the 2005 Del Mar Oaks in her only appearance where the
turf meets the surf, and Wishing Gate is now a prime contender for that same
Grade 1 affair on August 17.
“Now you’d have to think about the Oaks,” Proctor noted.
Rich in Spirit won stakes in three straight seasons, taking the 2004 John
Franks Juvenile Fillies Turf before earning Grade 3 laurels in the 2005 Regret
and 2006 Locust Grove. The daughter of Repriced placed in seven other stakes,
including the Mint Julep, Modesty and Virginia Oaks, and retired with a mark of
26-7-5-3, $606,066.
Wishing Gate’s fourth dam, 1987 Beverly D. heroine Dancing on a Cloud, is a
half-sister to Canadian champion Kamar, Grade 1 star Love Smitten and Grade 3
winner Stellarette, all influential matrons. Kamar, the 1990 Broodmare of the
Year, is responsible for Canadian champion Key to the Moon, multiple Grade 1
queen Gorgeous and Grade 1 winner Seaside Attraction, and her extended tribe
includes such champions as Fantastic Light and Golden Attraction. Love Smitten
produced multiple highweight Swain, while Stellarette is the ancestress of
successful sire Northern Afleet.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com