Winner of the Vanity H. on June 14, Iotapa recorded her second consecutive
The four-year-old daughter of Afleet Alex paid $4 to win as the even-money
“My filly is special and this was a heckuva win for her,” Talamo said. “And I
“Sometimes she’s thought of as a speed-type filly but she showed another
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Campaigned by Hronis Racing LLC, Iotapa led wire to wire in the Vanity and
broke forwardly on Saturday, but she conceded the early advantage to Broken
Sword entering the first turn. That rival sped her way to a 2 1/4-length lead
through an opening quarter-mile in :22 4/5 as Iotapa stalked in second.
Broken Sword continued to show way on an uncontested pace down the
backstretch, completing a half-mile in :46 3/5, and reached the three-quarters
mark in 1:11 with a 1 1/2-length advantage, but Iotapa was starting to gain on
the front-runner and accelerated into contention nearing the conclusion of the
far turn.
Iotapa appeared ready to overhaul the pacesetter in upper stretch but
appeared to shy away from the whip, racing a bit erratically as she shifted out, but Talamo got
his mount straightened up and Iotapa proved too good the rest of the way. She
struck the front in deep stretch and was edging away under the wire, stopping
the teletimer in 1:43.
“I have to tip my cap to that (Jerry) Hollendorfer filly (Broken Sword),”
Talamo said. “She was tough today. Coming off a layoff and she ran hard. When we
made the turn (for home), I let my filly drift out on purpose. I didn’t want to
get near her (Broken Sword). You don’t want to take on those tough ones.”
“My thought process down the stretch was ‘Yes-No-Yes-No-Yes-No,'” Benavidez
said when asked about Iotapa weaving in the stretch “I don’t know what was
going on. Maybe she was a little tired, maybe she was looking at things, but all
I know is she got there first.”
Broken Sword easily held second as the 5-1 third choice, 2 1/4 lengths better
than Parranda in third. Fiftyshadesofhay finished fourth and was followed by
More Chocolate and Doinghardtimeagain. Legacy was scratched.
Initially saddled by Marty Jones to take her maiden debut in June 2012 at
Hollywood Park, Iotapa was claimed out of that contest and wouldn’t face
competition again until sent out for an optional claiming victory at Santa Anita
in February 2013 by Sadler. She finished second to champion Beholder in the
Santa Anita Oaks the following month while making her stakes bow, then captured
her first stakes score in the Railbird a month later back at Hollywood.
Iotapa would race just twice more as a sophomore, finishing second in the
Hollywood Oaks and third in the grassy San Clemente at Del Mar.
The dark bay returned from a six-month layoff in January, posting a runner-up
in the Santa Monica at Santa Anita, earned her first graded stakes victory in
the Santa Maria in mid-February. After a second in the Santa Margarita a month
later, Iotapa shipped to Churchill Downs and recorded a disappointing
sixth-place finish in the Humana Distaff. She rebounded with a 10-length
thrashing of rivals in the Vanity, registering a 107 BRIS Speed rating for the
sparkling performance.
With Saturday’s $180,000 payday, Iotapa increased her bankroll to $796,796
from a 12-6-4-1 ledger.
Bred in Kentucky by GEM Inc., Bajer & O’Hara, Iotapa is the first registered
foal out of the winning El Corredor mare Concinnous and counts as a half-sister
to stakes winner Saintly Joan. The duo’s fourth dam is Grade 1 queen Alma North,
whose descendents also include Points Offthebench as well as Grade 3 winners
Visible Gold and Bench Points. Points Offthebench was posthumously honored as
the 2013 champion sprinter after suffering a fatal training accident while
preparing for last November’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Farther back this female line also includes European champions *Dodoma II, *Diableretta,
Ginetta and *Nasrullah, the latter of whom is an influential sire.
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