Discreet Marq goes gate-to-wire in Beaugay
Making her first start of the year, Grade 1 winner Discreet Marq had things all her own way in the Grade 3 Beaugay Stakes, a 1 1/16 mile turf affair for older fillies and mares, at Belmont Park.
Under jockey John Velazquez, Discreet Marq broke sharply and went straight for the lead from her far outside post in the field of 7. Utilizing his mare’s speed, Velazquez and Discreet Marq had no trouble clearing the field to establish a ground-saving rail position. Behind them, Radiator took 2nd with Recepta and J Wonder in third and fourth respectively. Testa Rossi and Photo Call came next with Caroline Thomas as the trailer.
With no pressure from any of her rivals, Discreet Marq loped along on an easy lead, putting up the opening quarter in a poky :26.13. From there, the tempo increased with each quarter, but the gray mare continued along easily, setting splits of :50.85 for the half, 1:13.87 for three-quarters and 1:36.36 for the mile.
Spinning for home, the leader and the trailer never changed, Discreet Marq showing the way and Caroline Thomas giving futile chase at the back of the field. Between those two, however, running positions shifted as Photo Call closed from second last at the ½ mile call to move all the way up into second during the stretch drive. As Photo Call gained ground, Radiator dropped out of contention while Recepta, J Wonder and Testa Rossi all continued along fairly evenly.
As the wire loomed, the 3 length lead Discreet Marq had built in the far turn was cut to a final winning margin of just ¾-length as Photo Call closed resolutely down the center of the track. Recepta out-nosed J Wonder for 3rd, who finished 1 ½-lengths in front of Testa Rossi. Radiator, who was hard held by Joel Rosario through the opening stages of the race, faded to 6th and Caroline Thomas finished last after trailing throughout. The winning time over Belmont’s firm inner turf was 1:42.15.
Winning jockey John Velazquez said that he Discreet Marq had the perfect trip. “She broke well and we weren’t expecting much speed, so she ended up on the lead,” he explained. “I wanted to make sure to let her run from the gate since there wasn’t any speed on paper. Nobody went, so we went [a half-mile] in :50 and change all by herself. After that, I just let her do what she wanted to do. She had plenty left in the stretch.”
Sent off as the 9-5 favorite, Discreet Marq paid $5.60/$3.40/$2.80 for the win. Runner up Photo Call, an 8-1 shot, returned $6.20/$4.40, and third place finisher Recepta returned $6.20 for the show off 17-1 odds. The $2 exacta paid $39.00, the $2 trifecta returned $283.00 and the $2 superfecta was worth $1,111.00.
By Discreet Cat and out of the Marquetry mare To Marquet, Discreet Marq is owned by Moyglare Stud Farm, Ltd. The Patricia Generazio bred mare has seen the auction ring just once, selling for $2,400,000 to her current connections in the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky 2014 November Sale. Trainer Christophe Clement, who has trained Discreet Marq for a good portion of her career, acted as agent for Ms. Generazio for the sale and was retained by Moyglare Stud Farm. With the addition of the $90,000 she earned today, Discreet Marq has banked $1,193,900 with 8 wins, 5 seconds and 4 thirds from 21 career starts.
After the gray mare’s victory today, Clement stated, “Everything is good. It’s nice when they come back. That’s what good horses do—they win.” He continued on, saying, “Great trip, great ride. She’s a good filly. Life is good. I’m delighted because Moyglare stepped up to buy her in the November sale and she came back to win a [graded] race right away for them, so that’s wonderful. This is a good start. Moyglare has been supporting the barn for many years so it’s nice to do well for them.”
Plans for Discreet Marq’s next start have not yet been revealed.