2YO Filly Stake Co-Feature on Military Family Appreciation Day

LAUREL, MD – Stoneway Farm’s homebred Cofactor extended her win streak to three races in her stakes debut, powering between horses down the stretch and drawing away by 1 ¾ lengths in Saturday’s $100,000 Warrior’s Reward Smart Halo.

The 23rd running of the Smart Halo for 2-year-old fillies shared top billing with the eighth  renewal of the $100,000 James F. Lewis III for 2-year-olds, both at six furlongs, on the Military Family Appreciation Day program.

Top choice at 6-5 in a field of eight, Cofactor ($4.40) and jockey Joe Bravo were stuck behind horses midway on the far turn but found room once straightened for home to put away her rivals. The winning time was 1:12.24 over a fast main track.

“I was worried that she was boxed in there,” winning trainer Kelly Breen said. “She was in tight and when she got clear I was just hoping that she had that kick, and she did.”

A winner of nearly 5,400 races who two weeks ago scored his first career Breeders’ Cup victory aboard Blue Prize in the Distaff (G1), Bravo positioned Cofactor in fifth along the inside from Post 2 as Letsstaypositive was in front through fractions of 22.20 and 46.52 seconds.

Bravo went to the whip twice on the turn to keep Cofactor in touch with the top flight but still had four horses in front of him approaching the top of the stretch, when they began to spread out allowing plenty of space for Cofactor to take charge.

“Best thing to do in horse racing is don’t think,” Bravo said. “She’s a really talented filly and she broke really fast. I think if I kept after her she could have kept up there close but she’s such a smart girl. She’s had [time] off, she let those horses go a fast, honest pace and turning for home those horses split and she was ready to roll.”

Cofactor had been on or near the lead in each of her first two starts, both at Monmouth Park, the latter a neck maiden special weight victory Sept. 14. She came back in an optional claimer Oct. 16 at Keeneland, where she got caught behind horses before getting up to win by a head.

“That race was kind of a shock. We didn’t really expect to sit off the pace but they went really fast,” Bravo said. “It gives you such an advantage to have a horse that sits off the pace and can watch horses in front, and she kicks in when you ask her.”

Lucky Trinity, a waiver maiden claiming winner at Laurel in her only previous start, drifted wide through the stretch and finished second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Still Alive. Letsstaypositive, Cruise and Danze, Always Something, Ilchester Cheetah and Summer Fortune completed the order of finish.

Though Cofactor had been training as part of Breen’s small string at Laurel, the trainer said the daughter of The Factor was expected to head north before likely returning to Maryland for the $100,000 Gin Talking Stakes going seven furlongs Dec. 28.

“She’ll probably go back to our barn in New York for the next month and then there’s [the] seven-furlong race here,” Breen said. “Originally we were planning on taking her to Florida, but we like the money here at Laurel.”

The Smart Halo pays tribute to the daughter of one of Maryland’s top sires, Smarten, who won the first race on the inaugural Maryland Million Day program in 1986, the Lassie for 2-year-old fillies, by a neck to cap a perfect 3-0 season for trainer Jim Day.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, Warrior’s Reward placed in six graded-stakes, including a victory in the 2010 Carter Handicap (G1) at Aqueduct, and banked $565,716 in purse earnings from 17 starts in 2009-10. Among his top progeny are 2018 Commonwealth (G3) winner Warrior’s Club and 2018 Indiana Derby (G3) and Smarty Jones (G3) winner Axelrod.