Stopchargingmaria gets back to form in Black-Eyed Susan

"It set up perfectly for us and I had a beautiful trip," Castellano said. "We

figured there'd be a lot of speed and I just wanted to put her in a good

position. We saved ground going into the first turn and after that it was a

matter of keeping her in the clear. I had ridden her before at Saratoga on an

off track, and she had no problems with it today at all. At the top of the

stretch, I was pretty confident."

Vero Amore safely held second, 2 3/4 lengths clear of Fortune Pearl. The

order of finish was rounded out by Joint Return, America, Arethusa, La Mejor

Fiesta, Shannon Nicole, 3-1 favorite Sloane Square, Euphrosyne, and Image of

Anna.

The Black-Eyed Susan was the second Grade 2 win for Stopchargingmaria, who

landed the Demoiselle at Aqueduct by a neck last November. She kicked off her

juvenile campaign with a 5 1/2-length debut win at Saratoga, and followed that

with a second in the Spinaway and third in the Frizette. Her Demoiselle score

was preceded by a 10 3/4-length triumph in the Tempted, also at Aqueduct.

The daughter of Tale of the Cat went unplaced in two starts earlier this

season, finishing fifth in the Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park and fourth in the

Fantasy at Oaklawn Park. Her record now stands at 8-4-1-1, $874,000.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure why her first two races this year didn't

go as well as last year," Pletcher said. "It took her a little while after the

Fantasy (April 5 at Oaklawn) to get back. After the Fantasy we took her up to

Saratoga and the cool weather seemed to invigorate her. Today she acted like she

was back to her old self.

"I like this race; I think it's my fourth Black Eyed Susan," added Pletcher,

who previously won with Spun Sugar (2005), Panty Raid (2007), and In Lingerie

(2012).

A $220,000 OBS two-year-old in training purchase, Stopchargingmaria was

reared by Exotic Bloom, a multiple stakes-winning daughter of Montbrook. Grade 2

winner Vision and Verse hails from this family, which descends from an old

Greentree Farm line the yielded noted sire Stop the Music and multiple Grade 1

winner Hatchet Man.

Stopchargingmaria was bred in Kentucky by Harvey Clarke and Brookdale Farm.

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