Ekati’s Phaeton scores in Old Hat

Ekati’s Phaeton made her three-year-old debut a winning one in the Old Hat (Lauren King/Adam Coglianese Photography)

Grade 3 winner Fashion Alert was expected to return a winner on Saturday in
Gulfstream Park’s Grade 3, $100,000
Old Hat
Stakes, but instead it was Ekati’s Phaeton who took top honors with jockey
Luis Saez aboard. The duo just survived a stretch-long duel with R Sassy Lass to
finish six furlongs over the fast main track in 1:10.

Fashion Alert, sent off the 2-5 favorite, entered the Old Hat off a
three-month break, having last been seen suffering her first loss in the Grade 1
Alcibiades at Keeneland in early October. The Old Fashioned miss didn’t get a
clean break in the Old Hat, hopping at the start, and appeared rank as she
rushed up on the hooves of Concealedwithakiss and Ekati’s Phaeton. Those two set
the pace from the beginning, posting splits of :22 3/5 and :45, but allowed just
enough room for Fashion Alert to move up between and challenge for the lead.

As Ekati’s Phaeton continued motoring, Fashion Alert backed up rounding the
turn with Concealedwithakiss soon following. R Sassy Lass had been tracking in
the second flight and put in her move in the lane, drawing even with Ekati’s
Phaeton. They battled it out in the stretch, but Ekati’s Phaeton managed to inch
away late for the half-length score.

“We had a perfect trip,” Saez remarked. “My filly broke good. It looked like
she could have taken the lead, but I didn’t want to do that. I saw a replay of
her last race and she looked like she waited for horses. Today, I wanted to come
from behind. When we came to the stretch, I had to let her run. When she saw the
other horse passing her, she started running again.”

Ekati’s Phaeton earned her first stakes win in the Old Hat (Natalie Fawkes/Adam Coglianese Photography)

“I left it up to Luis. I told him there was speed in the race and he said he
was going to go with what the break is. I said you just do whatever you want to
do,” Kaplan said. “She broke good and then the favorite (Fashion Alert) got
stuck in between. He let the favorite come inside of him and I was a little
upset at the time but I think we maybe intimidated that horse out of there, so
maybe it was a good factor.

“She’s a game mare and she’s got a tremendous amount of talent. You haven’t
seen her speed yet. She’s really got some speed. It’s fantastic for this owner
and this filly. She’s going to be special. She’s got all the tools and you see
she’s a real stout, big filly. She’s got the mind and she’s got the talent and
she’s got the soundness. What else can you use?”

Ekati’s Phaeton improved her record to 5-3-1-0, $118,360, while earning a
first black-type victory for her sire, Tale of Ekati, in this three-year-old
debut. The dark bay miss broke her maiden over the track in August, took an
allowance one month later and was sixth while making her stakes bow in the Our
Dear Peggy Stakes in October. She was given a brief freshening before running
second in her juvenile finale, the House Party Stakes, on November 29 at
Gulfstream Park West.

Bred in Kentucky by Haymarket Farm and Machmer Hall, Ekati’s Phaeton was
purchased by owner Phaedrus Flights LLC for $50,000 as an OBS August yearling
after RNAing for $18,000 as a Keeneland November weanling. Her owner attempted
to sell her at the OBS March Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds in Training, but she
once again RNAed, this time for $150,000.