Laughing all the way in the Diana
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Photo:
Eclipse Sportswire
Bettors, myself included, had a hard time deciding between
Stephanie’s Kitten and Centre Court, but in the end, neither of the top two
betting choices crossed the wire first. Instead Laughing, the second longest
shot on the board, led the talented field on a merry chase around the inner
turf course at Saratoga to win the G1 Diana Stakes.
With Jose Lezcano in the irons, Irish bred Laughing broke on top and went straight
out to the lead. Despite Centre Court closely stalking the pace on the outside,
Lezcano was able to take Laughing in hand and keep the field at a nice, even
pace. After being allowed to get away with a steady 12-clip, Laughing had
plenty left when asked for her best stride at the quarter pole. She then put
away Centre Court for good and fended off the late runs of both Dream Peace and Stephanie’s Kitten, the second and third place finishers
respectively, to narrowly prevail by a head at the wire.
The Richard Santulli
owned mare completed the 9 furlongs in 1.47:24 and paid $15.80/$6.70/$3.50.
Today’s win was her third in a graded stakes race and her first career Grade 1
victory. It also kept her a perfect 2 for 2 for the year after having a delayed
start to her 2013 campaign. Trainer Alan
Goldberg, who last won the Diana with Safely Kept, was not quick to commit to a game plan for Laughing but did state
that the Ballston Spa and the G1 Flower Bowl were possibilities.
Coming into today’s race, Laughing faced a tough task,
namely to take down 4 Grade 1 winners. That task was made a little easier when Dayatthespa, who Laughing had
decisively beaten last out at 8.5 furlongs, scratched. Tactically speaking,
Dayatthespa’s scratch was huge for Laughing. Even though Centre Court had shown
some early speed in a couple of previous races, with Dayatthespa out of the
picture, Laughing was left all alone on the front end to have things all her
way. Julien Leparoux and Centre Court tried to negate that advantage, but
ultimately that tactic backfired as Center Court backed out of contention in
the final furlong to finish 5th and last, ¾ of a length behind Samitar.
Those who had Laughing probably laughed all the way to
cashing in a winning ticket. I considered her briefly on account of the alone on the lead angle but ultimately passed in favor of Stephanie’s Kitten. Those
that know me know that I have a ‘No Kitten’ rule. In other words, if “Kitten”
is in the name or the horse in question was sired by Kitten’s Joy, I pass in
favor of a different contender. In recent weeks, that rule bit me in the
backside time and time again, so after getting crushed by Kitten’s Dumplings
last week, I threw in the towel and decided to pick a “Kitten.” Now, Stephanie’s
Kitten has always been the exception to my rule, so picking her today wasn’t
all that far-fetched for me; however, my thoughts on picking her were reflected
in one very telling tweet:
Ashley Tamulonis @Florida_Filly I picked a
"Kitten" today. Watch that angle backfire like an old farm truck.
#Saratoga #Diana
Sure enough, that old farm truck backfired so loud
it startled stock in the next county. In Stephanie’s Kitten’s defense, though,
she closed into a tepid pace to only be beaten for it all by a scanty
half-length. With a different pace scenario, look for Stephanie’s Kitten to be
back on the top of her game next out, but look out for Laughing, too. Today,
she showed that she meant business with that gutsy, front-running performance.
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