Bobby Flay’s Dame Dorothy put on quite a show Friday at Gulfstream Park in
just her second career start, romping by 12 lengths as the 5-2 third choice in
the depleted five-filly field.
The
1 1/16-mile allowance/optional claimer was originally scheduled to take
place on Gulfstream’s grass, but rainy weather forced the race onto the sloppy,
sealed main track. The original 13 strong group of three-year-old fillies, which
included three main-track only entrants, was slashed to just five by post time.
Dame Dorothy was one of those main-track hopefuls and found herself in a
perfect stalking position under jockey Javier Castellano once the gates opened.
Running three wide down the backstretch as 11-1 longshot Danalin set the pace
through splits of :23 3/5, :47 2/5 and 1:11 4/5, Dame Dorothy drew even with the
leader rounding the second turn and easily wrested command of the race away.
Dame Dorothy merely extended her advantage from there, opening up in the lane
by 3 1/2 lengths before posting an official 12-length victory on the wire in a
final time of 1:44 1/5 for
trainer Todd Pletcher.
“Yes, that was pretty impressive,” Pletcher said. “She’s always trained like
a really nice filly and I’m happy to get this race under her belt. We’ve been
pretty high on her all along. It took us a little while to get her going and she
didn’t break her maiden until Cigar Mile Day, but she showed us from early on
that she might be something special.”
The conditioner indicated that Dame Dorothy would likely face stakes company
next time. She could show up for the Grade 2, $200,000 Davona Dale at Gulfstream
on February 22, which is the intended target for runner-up Bird Maker, Friday’s 7-5
race favorite off a second-place effort in the November Golden Rod at Churchill
Downs.
Danalin came next in third by another 4 1/2 lengths, Comme Chez Soi filled the fourth
spot and a distanced Nutmeg finished the order under the wire.
Dame Dorothy was a nice debut maiden winner at Aqueduct last November 30, but
didn’t show the same ease with which she captured Friday’s race. The Bernardini
bay miss is now two-for-two and owns a $66,900 bankroll. She still has a ways to
go to earn back her $390,000 purchase price as a Keeneland September yearling,
though.
Bred in Pennsylvania by Derry Meeting Farm, Dame Dorothy is out of the
Woodman mare Vole Vole Monamour, who captured her only career start in France
and has also produced multiple Grade/Group 1 winner Mrs. Lindsay.
Dame Dorothy’s third dam is dual stakes heroine Mrs. Jenney, who foaled Grade
1-winning sire Unaccounted For, and her fourth dam is multiple English/Irish
champion Mrs. Penny. This productive female line is also responsible for Eclipse
Aware winner and French highweight Hatoof, Grade 1-scoring millionaire Irish
Prize, and last year’s Irish Derby victor Trading Leather, just to name a few.
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