A leisurely pace set by Classic Fit in Saturday’s $250,000 Mother Goose (G2) at Belmont Park turned the 1 1/16-mile fixture for three-year-old fillies into a final quarter-mile sprint. Odds-on favorite Dunbar Road provided a stellar closing kick to catch the long-time pacesetter past the eighth pole and won handsomely under Jose Ortiz.
Swinging out three wide for room entering the stretch, the Peter Brant-owned Dunbar Road surged clear late to win by 2 1/2 lengths in a time of 1:43.54 over a fast track. Trained by Chad Brown, she paid $2.60.
“With her being a young horse, she needs to get something out of it, and today was a perfect day because it was an easy race for her. I knew with the amount of horse that I had, I was going to find something to work with,” Ortiz said. “She was traveling comfortably and I felt like she was always there for me. When she got out of there, I was close to them and I just liked that she showed a good turn of foot. This will set her up for later.”
Classic Fit, who set fractions of :24.34, :49.13, and 1:14.34 in her first outing since December, held second by four lengths over second choice Jeltrin.
This was the first stakes win for Dunbar Road, who debut March 3 with an 8 3/4-length maiden score at Gulfstream Park. Though second best by a half-length next out in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), she did not earn enough qualifying points to make the field in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). She prepped for the Mother Goose winning a track-and-distance allowance by 5 1/2 lengths on May 30. She’s now earned $257,900.
Bred in Kentucky by Jeffery Drown, Dunbar Road was a $350,000 Keeneland September buy. She’s by Quality Road and out of Gift List, by Bernardini. She’s from the family of 2000 Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose winner Secret Status.
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The Brown-trained Uni made a successful return to action one race earlier in the $97,000 Perfect Sting, rallying to win by one length under Joel Rosario.
Last seen winning the Matriarch (G1) at Del Mar in December, Uni paid $2.90 after completing one mile on firm turf in 1:32.84. The five-year-old daughter of More Than Ready is owned in partnership by Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta, and Bethlehem Stables.
