Havre de Grace draws off in Azeri

Havre de Grace was easily the best in the Azeri (Oaklawn Park/Coady Photography) Fox Hill Farms Inc.’s HAVRE DE GRACE (Saint Liam) spent the latter half of her three-year-old season knocking heads with eventual champion Blind Luck (Pollard’s Vision). On Saturday, those two met for the fifth straight time in the $150,000 Azeri S. (G3) at Oaklawn Park and Havre de Grace began evening the score card when pulling off the 3 1/4-length victory under jockey Ramon Dominguez. Going for just her second career stakes win in the Azeri, Havre de Grace settled into fourth on the backstretch while Blind Luck took up her customary rear-running position. Absinthe Minded (Quiet American) led the way on the front end through splits of :23 3/5, :47 2/5 and 1:11 3/5, with Tidal Pool (Yankee Gentleman) and Shotgun Gulch (Thunder Gulch) stalking just in behind. Havre de Grace went after Absinthe Minded rounding the turn and quickly pulled away from that one in the stretch run. Blind Luck put in a good rally in the lane after swinging six wide around the final turn but was no match for her rival on this day as Havre de Grace continued motoring all the way to the line.

“She did everything we expected her to,” trainer Larry Jones said. “She had
trained very well. It was awesome. I wasn’t planning on going out and equaling
the stakes record (Sister Act in 1999, 1:42.01), but that was a bonus that she
did it fast. She’s an incredible mare.”

Sent off the 8-5 second favorite in the Azeri, Havre de Grace rewarded her
backers with payouts of $5.20, $2.60 and $2.20 after finishing 1 1/16 miles in
1:42.02 on the fast main track. Blind Luck, the 6-5 choice, suffered her fifth
consecutive runner-up finish while easily best of the rest. It was another 1 3/4
lengths back to Absinthe Minded, who just held Tidal Pool by a neck on the wire.
Shotgun Gulch, Kimber Lily (Sunday Break [Jpn]) and Spacy Tracy (Awesome Again)
completed the order of finish.

Havre de Grace was making her first start for Jones in this
spot, and handed her new conditioner his initial victory in the race. The
chestnut filly was tutored by Tony Dutrow during her juvenile and sophomore
seasons, and was originally scheduled to begin her career on the turf. After
running third in an off-the-turf maiden at Delaware Park, Havre de Grace
returned under those same conditions at that same venue in 2009 to post a 4
3/4-length win. She was seen again for nearly eight months, but returned a
winner last May in an allowance at Parx Racing.

Havre de Grace made her stakes bow in the Go for Wand S. back at Delaware
Park, just missing by a neck, then proceeded to run second to Blind Luck by a
nose in the Delaware Oaks (G2) and a neck in the Alabama S. (G1). She gained a
measure of revenge when getting her neck in front of Blind Luck on the wire of
the Cotillion S. (G2) in October, but closed out her sophomore season once again
running behind her rival when third to Blind Luck’s second in the Breeders’ Cup
Ladies’ Classic (G1).

The winner’s share of the Azeri boosted Havre de Grace’s career earnings to
$963,175 and her line now reads 9-4-3-2. Bred in Kentucky by Nancy S. Dillman,
she sold for $380,000 as a Keeneland September Yearling to her current
connections. The bay miss is out of the winning Easter Bunnette (Carson City),
who has since foaled the unraced juvenile filly Easterette (Hard Spun) and a
yearling Bernardini colt. Easter Bunnette is herself a daughter of stakes
victress and Grade 2 runner-up Toll Fee (Topsider), who is most known as the
granddam of multiple Grade 1 turf queen Riskaverse (Dynaformer) as well as Grade
3 scorers Cozzy Corner (Cozzene) and Tasteyville (With Approval).

Havre de Grace’s fourth dam is influential matron Missy Baba (*My Babu),
whose descendants include the likes of 1991 Broodmare of the Year Toll Booth
(Buckpasser) and 1992 Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise (Secretariat) as
well as top sires A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew) and Summer Squall (Storm Bird).