My Option romps in Chicago Handicap

My Option cruised to a second Grade 3 win over Arlington’s main track (Four Footed Fotos) My Option reeled in long-time leader Flower Spell in the stretch and drew off to a convincing score in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Chicago Handicap for fillies and mares at Arlington. Settling in the second tier of runners down the backside as Flower Spell held a lonely lead through splits of :23 2/5 and :46 2/5, My Option began to gain momentum and position approaching the quarter pole and shifted out turning for home to take aim on the leader. Under Eddie Perez, the four-year-old zoomed past the front-runner and extended her advantage to 6 1/2 lengths at the wire. After completing seven furlongs in 1:23 3/5 over the Polytrack, My Option paid $13.20 as the 5-1 fourth choice.

“She’s trained great coming up to it,” said Chris Block, who trains the filly
for owner-breeder Tim Keeley. She and Eddie get along really well.”

Flower Spell finished second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of 8-5 favorite Disco
Barbie. Rounding out the order of finish were Allanah, Eden Prairie, Fire
Trucks, 2013 Chicago winner Cozze Up Lady, Queen’s Award, and Chortle.

Apropos was scratched from the Chicago after flipping and striking her head
in the paddock. She was later vanned off after her bleeding was reportedly
controlled.

An Illinois-bred daughter of Belong to Me, My Option won three of her first
four stakes appearances, highlighted by a neck victory in the Arlington Oaks
last July. Previously, she had won the Pretty Jenny and Pat Whitworth Debutante
at Hawthorne, and finished second in the Purple Violet at Arlington, all against
state-breds.

The Chicago is the second Grade 3 win of My Option’s career and her first
victory overall since the Arlington Oaks. Since the latter win, she had finished
third in the Hatoof and Pucker Up at Arlington, the Raven Run at Keeneland, and
the Third Chance at Hawthorne. She was unplaced in two other graded outings, the
Falls City Handicap at Churchill and the Hendrie at Woodbine in her most recent
start. Her record now stands at 13-5-2-4, $418,557.

“(In the Hendrie), she broke outward and she got into the race a little too
quickly,” Block said. “She’s the kind of filly who needs to lay back and make
one run. She was a little too involved in the pace early on and that cost her.
She still dug in hard and got a lot out of the race. That was our stepping stone
to today.”

My Option was reared by the multiple stakes-winning Out of Options, a
daughter of Cohiba.

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