Sunday’s Shuvee Handicap (G3) at Saratoga only drew three runners but it may as well have been just one as Paid Up Subscriber turned the nine-furlong affair into a paid workout.
Jockey John Velazquez piloted the Candy Ride mare, who appeared to merely gallop throughout the entire race. After a slight bump from Terra Promessa at the start, Paid Up Subscriber settled into the four path on the backstretch as that rival set the opening half-mile fractions of :23.07 and :46.81. Apologynotaccepted tracked in second and moved at the same time as Paid Up Subscriber.
For a moment all three runners were lined up across the track, then Paid Up Subscriber pulled away. She continued pulling away with Velazquez sitting chilly, eventually crossing under the wire a whopping 32 1/2 lengths in front of Terra Promessa. It was another four lengths back to Apologynotaccepted.
With such a short field, the only wagering offered was for the win, and Paid Up Subscriber paid $3.30 as the 3-5 favorite for stopping the clock in 1:51.31 over the fast main track.
Owned by Allen Stable Inc. and Peter Brant, Paid Up Subscriber is now 15-5-3-2 in her career with a lifetime bankroll of $862,850. She earned her second stakes victory in this spot, having captured the Fleur de Lis Handicap (G2) in June 2016 at Churchill Downs. The five-year-old mare also boasts placings in the Delaware Handicap (G1) and Spinster Stakes (G1) from last season, when she was conditioned by Al Stall Jr.
The chestnut mare was transferred to trainer Chad Brown for her five-year-old campaign and finished third for her new barn while making her seasonal bow in the Madison Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on April 8. She followed up with a fourth-place run in the La Troienne Stakes (G1) at Churchill on May 5, Kentucky Oaks Day, and entered this spot off a very nice second to dual champion Songbird in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park on June 10, Belmont Stakes Day.
Paid Up Subscriber is out of the stakes-placed Street Cry mare Shriek, who is a half-sister to Grade 2 victor Stanley Park and Grade 3-placed stakes hero Turf Melody.
SHUVEE QUOTES
Peter Brant, co-owner Paid Up Subscriber, winner
“I’m very proud of her. She was running against a pretty filly last time (second to Songbird in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps) and was right there. I was very pleased. I couldn’t be happier. The other two fillies were good, too, but we just battled it out.”
John Velazquez, jockey Paid Up Subscriber, winner
“It was great. It was a three-horse field, so sometimes you have to do things different and that’s how it happened today. I knew the other two horses had some speed. I wanted to keep it close enough to where they didn’t get away from me and not put too much pressure on them.
“On the backstretch, I changed my mind and put the pressure on and see how they did. When I got to the (half-mile) pole, it looked like it was turning my way, and from then on it was pretty easy for her. The other horses took back at the three-quarter pole, so when I got to the front, I decided to put the pressure on. When they took back, I changed my mind and put the pressure on and she handled it very well.”
