“There was a lot of pressure
“I knew (Overheard would) run big. I didn’t know if she could win this race,
Ridden by Eurico Rosa da Silva, the 5-1 chance
Stormin Elle tried to kick away at the top of the lane, but Nellie Cashman
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“My trip was awesome,” da Silva said. “(I told) Malcolm before the race
(that) I was concerned (about saving) some ground. He said, ‘Eurico, I prefer
you come outside. I think that’s the best way for her to run today.’ So that’s
what I did. I just followed his instructions. When I came home, I had a lot of
horse. I was outside; I had a very clear trip. She was ready today.”
Nellie Cashman was 1 3/4 lengths clear of 9-5 favorite Summer of Fun, who
encountered traffic trouble on the turn. The riders of the placegetters both
believed that the turf was a touch less than firm from their vantage point.
“We had a good trip,” Forest Boyce said of Nellie Cashman. “The ground has a
little give to it and she’s been running on some pretty firm turf. It may have
gotten to her a little bit today, but I thought she ran her race and she ran
great. We had a good trip, saved ground, got through on the rail — can’t ask
for more than that. The other filly just ran a little bit faster today.”
“I
wanted to be a little closer than we ended up,” Joe Rocco Jr. said of his trip
aboard Summer of Fun, “but that’s just kind of how things shook out. I thought
my mare ran really well considering nothing really set up ideally the way she
likes it. She’d rather have firm going, which on a day like this would be
outside. I was stuck inside all the way and there was never a chance to get out.
She still ran on even though she wasn’t on her favorite part of the racetrack. I
think she ran well considering how everything went.”
Frivolous checked in fourth. Next came Unbelievable
Dream, who had come from the clouds to catch Overheard in the Appalachian;
Sustained; Stormin Elle; Yuzuru; Miss Lamour; Every Way; I O Ireland; and the
first also-eligible Hedonemewrongsong. She’s Popular was scratched, along with
the second also-eligible, Sense to Compete.
Overheard now sports a mark of 10-4-3-3, $323,696. A maiden winner second
time out over Woodbine’s Polytrack last November, the bay filly cleared her
entry-level allowance condition by 3 3/4 lengths on the Fair Grounds turf in
December. She has been a consistent competitor in stakes ever since. Overheard
finished third in the March 2 Allen LaCombe Memorial at Fair Grounds, a
half-length second in the Appalachian, and third in the May 19 Selene back on
the Polytrack at Woodbine.
After rallying to her first stakes win by a nose in the June 9 Alywow at 6
1/2 grassy furlongs, Overheard played second fiddle to Leigh Court in both the
August 17 Ontario Colleen on turf and the September 21 La Lorgnette on Polytrack.
The merit of those performances was underscored when Leigh Court finished a
solid fourth in last Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.
The Kentucky-bred Overheard is the first registered foal from stakes winner
Whisper to Me, a Thunder Gulch mare from the family of Grade 1 victress
Confessional. Overheard’s fourth dam is Miss Carmie, who produced Hall of Famer
Chris Evert, the ancestress of champion and sire Chief’s Crown and multiple
Grade 1-winning millionaires Sightseek and Tates Creek. Other descendants of
Miss Carmie include multiple Japanese Grade 1 star Tap Dance City and Hall of
Famer Winning Colors, winner of the 1988 Kentucky Derby.
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