The character of Monday’s $150,000
Glens
Falls was radically altered when it was rained off the turf, producing a
flurry of scratches, and the main-track-only Lady Cohiba took advantage to
record a wire-to-wire victory at Saratoga. With the change of conditions from 1
3/8 miles on the inner turf to 1 1/8 miles on the muddy, sealed main track, the
distaff affair was automatically downgraded from a Grade 3, pending review by
the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Owned by Live Oak Plantation, Lady Cohiba proved an able substitute for
trainer Christophe Clement’s other entrant, Mystical Star, who was withdrawn
upon the surface switch. Indeed, the Glens Falls lost nearly all of its turf
contenders — Tannery, Anjaz, Layali Dubai, Angel Terrace, Minakshi and
Strathnaver. Only White Rose and Cash for Clunkers remained in the main body of
the field. As a result, the bulk of the contestants drew in on a main-track-only
basis.
Junior Alvarado, who became available when Layali Dubai scratched, picked up
the mount on Lady Cohiba and engineered a fine front-running ride aboard the 3-2
favorite. Gliding through to take command, she posted fractions of :23 3/5, :47
3/5 and 1:12 1/5, with Greed and Fear poised just off her flank. Lady Cohiba
began to get away from Greed and Fear on the far turn, only to have Geisha Gal
and White Rose advance into contention.
But Lady Cohiba kept on remorselessly down the stretch. First repelling
Geisha Gal, the Broken Vow filly had enough left to stave off the late thrust of
White Rose by a diminishing half-length. Lady Cohiba, who had captured the
Summer Guest at this same track and trip a year ago, stopped the teletimer in
1:50 4/5 and returned $5 to win.
“I told Junior to be on the pace or close to the pace,” Clement said. “He
never rushed her; he let her run her own race. She was very comfortable in
front.”
“She broke very good, you know,” Alvarado recapped, “and I let her get
comfortable. She was on the lead, doing it really nice. By the three-eighths
pole, I was pretty confident. I knew I was going to have a lot left. Turning for
home, when I asked her, she really gave me a nice kick at the end.
“She definitely will keep improving,” the rider added when asked about her
future. “She won on the lead, she’s won from behind. I took the lead because she
broke really good and it came easy. You have to take it that way, you know?
Definitely, she will keep improving.”
Scampering crossed the wire another 2 1/2 lengths back in third, followed by
Geisha Gal, Malibu Holiday and Greed and Fear. Cash for Clunkers dropped well
back in last and did not finish. Swift Taylor was the lone scratch among the
main-track-only entrants.
Lady Cohiba’s scorecard now stands at 11-4-2-2, $288,525. A debut maiden
winner at Belmont as a juvenile, she made it two in a row with a 3 1/2-length
tally in the May Night in the slop at Aqueduct, and ended 2011 with a sixth in
the Demoiselle. Lady Cohiba was runner-up in Belmont’s Inside Information in her
three-year-old premiere. After her victory in the Summer Guest at the Spa, she
placed in the Belle Cherie and Imperial Gesture back at Belmont, and wound up
fourth in the November 24 Gazelle at Aqueduct.
Rested for her four-year-old campaign, Lady Cohiba reappeared in the August 9
Alada, held at this distance on a sloppy track. She set the pace that day as
well, but tired late for third behind Flashy American and Street Secret, and
moved forward off that tightener on Labor Day.
Clement left plans open.
“I’m going to enjoy it,” the trainer said of her Glens Falls win. “(Owner
Charlotte) Weber is here, let’s enjoy the win. They’re tough to come by in
Saratoga. We’ll worry about the future tomorrow.”
Lady Cohiba was bred by Mike G. Rutherford in Kentucky and sold for $240,000
as a Keeneland September yearling. She is the first registered foal from the
stakes-winning Cat Thief mare Cohiba Miss, a relative of Grade 2 heroine
Wortheroatsingold, the dam of Grade 3 scorer Daylight Savings.
Lady Cohiba’s third dam, Pennyworth, is a winning full sister to Grade 1 star
and sire Sauce Boat. Thus Lady Cohiba descends from the blue hen Missy Baba, who
produced noted sire Raja Baba and Broodmare of the Year Toll Booth. Her numerous
descendants include Hall of Famer and supersire A.P. Indy.
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