R Free Roll splashes home in Honorable Miss
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Photo:
NYRA / Coglianese Photos
A deluge of rain at Saratoga brought all the grass races off
the turf and turned the main track into a sloppy but sealed mess. The end
result of what had originally been a turf heavy card was an abundance of
scratches due to the conditions. Despite that, however, the Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap only
saw one scratch. When La Verdad did not bring her “A” game, it was R Free Roll who went to the front and
led the field on a merry chase, wiring them after getting things all her own
way.
With Paco Lopez aboard, the Florida shipper zipped straight
to the lead from post position three. Merry Meadow chased the pace from second,
and La Verdad and My Wandy’s Girl
settled in fourth and third respectively. Speedinthruthecity raced in fifth and
Calistoga trailed throughout.
With no pressure from her rivals, R Free Roll laid down a :22
flat opening quarter before slowing things down to clock the half in :45.15. She
continued on comfortably, ticking off 5/8ths in :57.23 before strolling home in
a good 1:10.12 for the six furlong affair. The winning margin was 1 ¼ lengths.
“I hit her a couple of times, waiting for the other horses,
but nobody came,” said winning rider Lopez. “I had a lot of horse and she ran
really well today.”
My Wandy’s Girl,
who made her move in the far turn, rallied to grab second by 1 ¼ lengths over
Merry Meadow, who lost the placing after racing in 2nd throughout.
The order of finish was completed by Speedinthruthecity, La Verdad and
Calistoga.
Danny Gargan, R Free Roll’s trainer, was thrilled with the
filly’s victory, which gave them both their first graded victory and win at
Saratoga. It was also the first time she faced the starting gate for him since
being transferred to his barn from Kirk Ziadie’s. “We knew [going to the lead] was the only way
we were going to beat [La Verdad],” he said. “We took control of the race and
made her have to chase. That was the game plan, and [R Free Roll’s owner Rich
Averill] is a pretty smart handicapper, and he’s a pretty sharp guy to pick
those things out.”
Sent off at 13-2 odds, R Free Roll paid $15.00/$5.80/$5.10
for the win. My Wandy’s Girl returned $5.50/$4.30 off 11-2 odds, and Merry Meadow paid $4.70 for the show at
odds of 10-1. Exotic payoffs were juicy thanks to the top trio. The $2 exacta
paid $88.50, the $2 trifecta returned $435.50 and the $2 superfecta was worth
$1,111.00.
R Free Roll’s victory snapped a four race winning streak for
La Verdad. The filly’s trainer, Linda Rice, said after the race, “[Jockey] Jose
[Ortiz] said she really didn’t like the mud in her face. We had a choice—whether
to gun her and try to go with that other speed horse, or not. I left it up to
Jose. I told him to figure it out on his own. [Depending on] how she broke, if
he wanted to sit off it, fine; if he wanted to go after it, either way. Jose
said she didn’t like the mud in her face and she would have rather run on the
lad. Next time, we’ll go to the Ballerina, hoperfully, and we’ll be on the
lead.”
By Rockport Harbor and out of the Acceptable
mare Jewels N Gems, R Free Roll is a homebred for owners Averill Racing LLC and
Silver Oak Stable. A multiple stakes winner, the filly’s graded victory
improved her overall record to 17: 7-5-2 for total purse earnings of $495,854.
Gargan left the possibility of his filly facing La Verdad again in the seven
furlong Grade 1 Ballerina on August 23 open, stating, “It’s obviously up to the
owners where the next game is. The way she ran today with this bunch, maybe. I
don’t think they were catching her late.”
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