Idiomatic continued her progression in the older filly and mare dirt division, overcoming a bad stumble at the break to win Saturday’s $500,000 Delaware H. (G2). After leading all the way in the Shawnee (G3) at Churchill Downs, Idiomatic showed her versatility by switching tactics, gamely defeating Classy Edition by a head in the prestigious event for fillies and mares.
Florent Geroux was up for Brad Cox on the Juddmonte Farms homebred daughter of Curlin, and Idiomatic completed the 1 3/16-mile race in 1:56.41 as the 2-5 favorite.
Last away from the starting gate, Idiomatic stalked in fifth early as Classy Edition showed the way on the front end through an opening quarter-mile in :23.77. The favorite moved to third along the backstretch, and Idiomatic advanced to engage the pacesetter nearing the completion of the far turn.
Classy Edition responded when challenged, dueling through the stretch before coming up a little short as the 5-2 second choice. It was nearly 10 lengths back to Morning Macha in third, and Royal Take Charge, Gamestonks, and Battle Bling came next under the wire.
Kentucky-bred Idiomatic is out of the multiple stakes-winning Lockdown, a daughter of First Defence who counted a third in the 2017 Kentucky Oaks (G1) among her four stakes placings. Lockdown hails from the Storm Cat mare Rising Tornado, making her a half-sister to Close Hatches, the champion older female of 2014 and the dam of multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire and sire Tacitus.
Idiomatic has never finished out of the money from nine starts (6-1-2). The bay filly won at first asking 15 months ago and made four starts against allowance rivals before capturing her stakes debut, the Latonia at Turfway Park in late March. Following a runner-up in first graded attempt, the Ruffian (G2) at Belmont in early May, Idiomatic broke through at the graded level in the Shawnee on June 3, scoring by 2 1/2 lengths after dominating on the lead. She’s now earned $774,490.
Earlier on the program, Alva Starr made her stakes debut a winning one in the $100,300 Dashing Beauty S. at six furlongs. The three-year-old filly seized the lead after the break and drew off to win by 6 3/4 lengths for owner P. Dale Ladner, stopping the teletimer in 1:09.34 as the 7-5 favorite. Now 4-2-2-0 in her career, the Brett Brickman-trained daughter of Lord Nelson was ridden by Mychel Sanchez.
Doppelganger tracked the pace in second before taking command in upper stretch of the $150,000 Battery Park S., scoring by 2 1/4 lengths with Jevian Toldeo. An upset winner of the Carter (G1) two back, the four-year-old colt stretched back out to a two-turn distance and rebounded from a ninth in the Met Mile (G1) to earn his second stakes win. Brittany Russell trains the son of Into Mischief, and Doppelganger was off as the .90-1 favorite in the scratch-depleted three-horse field, traveling 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.36.
