Hot City Girl Makes It Look Easy In Safely Kept
Hot City Girl Makes It Look Easy In Safely Kept
Awesome Speed Takes Lewis For Colts Neck-Goldberg
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LAUREL, MD - Lady Sheila Stable's graded-stakes winner Hot City Girl broke on top and never looked back Saturday, wiring nine opponents to impressively win the $100,000 Safely Kept at Laurel Park on the Fall Festival of Racing program.
Hot City Girl, a 3-year-old filly trained by Linda Rice and ridden by Cornelio Velasquez, drew away down the stretch to win by 8 1/4 lengths over Stroke Play. It was a nose back to Paulassilverlining in third. Hot City Girl covered the seven furlongs in 1:22.70 after setting fractions of :23.01, :45.49 and 1:09.97.
A New York-bred daughter of City Zip who broke her maiden at Aqueduct in November, Hot City Girl finished fourth in Laurel's Caesar's Wish and fourth in the Bouwerie at Belmont before being given some time off after finishing fifth in the Mother Goose (G1) in June. She's since returned to win the Charles Town Oaks (G3), Safely Kept and an allowance optional claimer at Belmont two weeks ago.
"She needed some time, a little rest (after the Mother Goose), and she's done nothing but improve since then," Rice said. "Coming into the fall she really looked like she was maturing and going the right way. We had her at Saratoga in the Prioress (G2) against Cavorting but we scratched her. We also added blinkers. She's a little more focused. I think she's getting better with age.
"This was a good race for her, but I was a little nervous about bringing her back so soon, even though she has been training great. On the back side they were putting a little pressure on her, but she handled it well. On the turn, I knew that she was ready for them today."
Rice said Hot City Girl could make a return trip to Maryland early next year for the Barbara Fritchie (G2).
Awesome Speed Takes Lewis For Colts Neck-Goldberg
Awesome Speed, a 2-year-old son of Awesome Again owned by Colts Neck Stables and trained by Alan Goldberg, dug in gamely down the stretch to win the James F. Lewis III by three-quarters of a length over a closing Never Gone South.
Breaking alertly from the gate under jockey Horacio Karamanos, Awesome Speed was rated second behind Zayat Stable's Futurity (G2) runner-up King Kranz past a :22.41 opening quarter before taking the lead around the turn. Awesome Speed gamely held off the competition down the stretch while covering the six furlongs in 1:09.67.
Awesome Speed, purchased earlier this year for $335,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Select 2-year-olds in Training Sale, finished seventh in his debut Aug. 31 at Parx before breaking his maiden at Laurel Oct. 10 at six furlongs by 3 3/4 lengths.
"Last time when he broke his maiden he was looking at everything and I had to keep him busy with my whip because once he tried to stop down the stretch," Karamanos said. "Today, he broke good out of the gate. I didn't want him to be on the lead, so I saw (King Kranz) on the lead I just sat outside him. When we took the lead he was strong to the wire.
"This horse is going to improve. He's a very nice horse."
