Lady Eli catapults to win in Miss Grillo

Lady Eli catapults to win in Miss Grillo

Lady Eli gave trainer Chad Brown the Miss Grillo hat trick  in her stakes bow (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography) Sheep Pond Partners’ Lady Eli shot past the leaders in midstretch to capture her stakes debut in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Miss Grillo Stakes for two-year-old fillies at Belmont to remain undefeated from two starts. “Outstanding performance,” said trainer Chad Brown, who saddled his third straight winner in the Miss Grillo. “(Lady Eli) had trained like a horse with a ton of ability; that’s why she opened up as such a short price in her debut. To start your career two-for-two, as impressive as those races have been, is great. You can’t ask for more.” Lady Eli scored in her racing bow by a nose at this distance as the 6-5 favorite at Saratoga last month.

The dark bay raced three wide in close range of the front runners, as coupled 6-5
favorite Greywalls set moderate fractions of :25 2/5, :51 2/5 and
1:15 4/5. Lady Eli was just biding her time with clear running room on the
outside. She went five wide into the upper stretch, rallied past the leaders
inside the eighth pole and drew away to score by three lengths in the end.

“My filly put me in a perfect position,” jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said. “I
wanted to be covered up; I had to stay there, sit third. As soon as I asked her,
she took off. The trainer did a great job with her. He always told me, ‘She’s a
nice filly and she’s training great.'”

Lady Eli covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:43 2/5 over the firm turf course. Sent off
as the 7-2 third choice, the daughter of Divine Park returned $9.80 to her backers for the victory
and now has $169,800 in career earnings.

Margaret Reay held on for second by 1 1/4 lengths over the coupled Tammy the Torpedo in third. Partisian Politics, Greywalls, Ancient Goddess, My
Cara Mia, Lady Bling, Skinner Box, Nicky’s Brown Miss and Titanium Jo completed
the order under the wire. Amazing Anne was scratched from the race.

Brown saddled a total of three fillies in here to give him a shot at the Miss
Grillo hat trick. His previous two winners were Testa Rossi (2013) and
Watsdachances (2012). He also trained Maram to victory at the dawn of his career
in 2008.

“On workouts, I would have given (Lady Eli) a slight edge (of the three),”
Brown said. Tammy the Torpedo isn’t a great work horse, but her first start was
incredible. And Partisan Politics had been breezing very sharply. Unfortunately,
she missed the break, and was really in trouble the whole way. (Partisan
Politics) was a very troubled fourth, and (jockey) Javier (Castellano) got off
her and thought she was the best in the race. It’s going to be interesting to
see with her win in the P.G. Johnson and fourth (in the Miss Grillo) if she can
get in (to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies).”

“(Jockey) Joel (Rosario) said he thought Tammy the Torpedo didn’t like being
up so close to such a slow pace,” Brown added. “He said she might benefit from
being farther back in a race with more pace.”

Bred in Kentucky by Runnymede Farm Inc. and Catesby W. Clay, Lady Eli is out
of the Saint Ballado mare Sacre Coeur, who is a half-sister to multiple Grade 2
scorer Changing Ways and Grade 3 winner Jacodra’s Devil. Lady Eli is a
half-sister to multiple Grade 3 victress Bizzy Caroline.

Her female family also
boasts Grade 2 victors Tejano Run and More Royal, while farther down her female line
are Canadian champion Spring in the Air and English Group 1 winner Palace
Episode.

Lady Eli sold as a yearling for $160,000 at the Keeneland September sale and
then brought $160,000 again as a two-year-old in training at the Keeneland April
sale.

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