Lady Eli stays perfect with Appalachian stroll
In a much anticipated rematch, Lady Eli and Sunset Glow each returned to the races in the Grade 3 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland after being off since November. The two superb fillies met for the first time in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and Lady Eli came away with the victory that day, pouncing in the lane to take over from the pacesetting Sunset Glow. In much the same fashion today, Lady Eli was content to let Sunset Glow make the pace before pouncing in the lane to take both the lead and the win.
Breaking from post 4 with Joel Rosario in the irons, Sunset Glow immediately went to her usual spot on the front end. With Lady Eli and Miss Temple City tracking the pace from second and third respectively, Sunset Glow set very modest splits of :24.04 and :48.48 for the first two points of call. Following behind the three leaders were Mizz Money, Urtheoneeyelove, Late Spring and Tiger Ride, in that order.
Midway in the far turn, Lady Eli and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. turned up the pressure, moving up the outside to engage Sunset Glow. At the top of the lane, the rematch was on in earnest with the two fillies racing side by side. Approaching the eighth pole, Lady Eli put away her foe and lengthened her advantage to the wire, crossing under it the winner by 2 ½ lengths in a final time of 1:35.80 for the mile event. Miss Temple City kicked it into high gear in the final furlong to steal the place from Sunset Glow by a neck.
Urtheoneeyelove gained a placing to round out the superfecta. Tiger Ride moved up from the very rear of the field to grab 5th. Mizz Money and Late Spring completed the order of finish.
Chad Brown, trainer of winner Lady Eli, was quite pleased with how the filly progressed from last year to this year to remain undefeated. “You have these brilliant 2-year-olds and they don’t always train on at three,” he stated. “We gave her a little time off this winter, but all of her works have been so strong and sharp. She gave every indication she’d come back even better at three, and as she showed today, she did.”
Sent off as the 2-5 favorite, Lady Eli paid $2.80/$2.40/$2.10 for her win. Off odds of 13-1, Miss Temple City returned $6.00/$3.40, and a show bet on Sunset Glow was worth $2.20. The $2 exacta paid $15.20, the $2 trifecta returned $34.00 and the $2 superfecta was worth $295.60.
Winning rider Irad Ortiz Jr. has been aboard Lady Eli for every one of her career starts and knows the filly as well as anyone else. “Trainer Chad Brown has done an awesome job with the filly,” he praised. “She had some time off then came back today, and you saw how she ran today. She did it easy. When I asked her, she took the lead, she did it easy then slowed down.”
By Divine Park and out of the Saint Ballado mare Sacre Coeur, Lady Eli is owned by Sheep Pond Partners. She first went through the auction ring in the Keeneland 2013 September Yearling Sale, where she was purchased by Bradley Thoroughbreds, agent from breeder Runnymede Farm for $160,000. She was pinhooked into the Keeneland 2014 April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale where Jay Hanley, one of the partners of Sheep Pond Partners, picked up the filly for her original purchase price of $160,000. Lady Eli has since paid dividends on that amount. Perfect in 4 career starts, the filly has earned $794,800 in purse monies.
Plans for Lady Eli have already been arranged, though not necessarily set in stone, through her early season target. “We’ll probably take her back to our home base at Belmont,” Brown stated after the race. “There’s a stakes (the May 31, $200,000 Wonder Again at Belmont) which might prove a good prep for the ($1 million, Grade 1) Belmont Oaks (Invitational on July 4), which is our early season target, but we’ll let the filly tell us, and she how she trains.”