Vincent Scuderi’s homebred Paulassilverlining joined the millionaire’s club on Saturday when capturing the $122,500 Garland of Roses Stakes at Aqueduct.
Trained by Michelle Nevin and ridden in the six-furlong inner track contest by Jose Ortiz, the four-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper was 2 1/4 lengths clear on the wire to stop the clock in 1:11.60.
Paulassilverlining earned her fifth victory of 2016 in this spot. She also captured the Distaff Handicap (G3), Vagrancy Handicap (G3) and Gallant Bloom Handicap (G2) this season. The bay miss was unplaced only once from nine total starts and entered the Garland of Roses off a third-place effort in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).
Paulassilverlining improved her record to 18-8-4-3 and has banked $1,008,950 lifetime.
GARLAND OF ROSES QUOTES
Michelle Nevin, winning trainer of Paulassilverlining (No. 6): “We talked before the race and Jose (Ortiz) said he thought there was a little bit of speed to the inside and he was just going to sit off them and lay close. That’s exactly what he did, and once he shook her and asked her to go, she went on.”
On Paulassilverlining earning a million in earnings: “I’m very proud of her. How could you not be? She’s been a star from the get go.”
“It’s up to her and it’s up to Vinny (Scuderi) if she will continue running into next year. She’s a filly that likes to go out and race. She kind of conserves her energy in the morning time. She’s a solid filly that likes to work so we’ll see what happens.”
Jose Ortiz, winning rider aboard Paulassilverlining (No. 6): “She broke great and put me in a terrific position. I had asked her a bit going to the quarter pole to make sure she passed that horse (Disco Chick) because you never know. I asked and she responded well. She switched leads and kicked on. When she starts going by herself, she starts playing around, so I hit her a couple of times to make her focus. She finished up well, I’m very happy with the race.”
