Stopchargingmaria outduels Untapable in the Shuvee
It was a battle of the top 2 East Coast fillies in Sunday’s Grade 3 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga. From the break, Stopchargingmaria brought the pressure to pace-setting Untapable, and though the latter led for most of the affair, it was “Maria” who emerged triumphant. Inside the final furlong, Stopchargingmaria poked a head in front and drew away to a 1 length victory.
From post 4, Untapable and John Velazquez broke quickly and immediately went out to set the pace. Just to their outside, Stopchargingmaria with Javier Castellano aboard followed suit and took up position just to the outside and behind last year’s 3-year old champion filly. Tiz Windy, Privet Hedge, House Rules and Imposing Grace followed those two, bunched all together with just 4 ½ lengths covering the field at the ½-mile call.
With Stopchargingmaria hounding her every step, Untapable posted reasonable fractions of :23.54 for the opening quarter and :47.49 for the first half. Putting a bit more distance between herself and “Maria,” Untapable then ran three-quarters in 1:11.83. Behind them, the running order did not change at all.
Turning for home, Stopchargingmaria switched gears and drew alongside rival Untapable. The two multiple grade 1 winners raced stride for stride down the lane before “Maria” finally won the battle of the wills. She put away Untapable in deep stretch and pulled away to win the 1 1/8 mile affair by a length in a final time of 1:49.37.
Winning jockey Javier Castellano stated, “I’m so very proud of her; I’ve always liked her. We get along with each other, and I was very lucky to ride her. There wasn’t much speed in the race and Johnny [Velazquez, aboard Untapable] went with the flow. I thought I was going to have to go dictate the pace myself, but Johnny took it and I just took back a little bit. The most important thing about my position is that I was outside. I was able to choose where I wanted to be and it worked out great today. Good post, good setup, and turning for home, the filly was much the best.”
Tiz Windy continued on to finish 3rd after racing in that position throughout the entirety of the race. She was 8 lengths clear of 4th place finisher House Rules. Imposing Grace and Privet Hedge completed the order of finish.
Stopchargingmaria and Untapable were sent to post as 6-5 co-favorites; “Maria” paid $4.70/$2.40/$2.10 for the win, and Untapable returned $2.60/$2.10 for the place. A $2 show bet on Tiz Windy was worth $3.30. The chalky $2 exacta paid $9.00, the $2 trifecta returned $36.20 and the $2 superfecta was worth just $64.50.
By Tale of the Cat and out of the Montbrook mare Exotic Bloom, Stopchargingmaria was bred by Harvey Clarke & Brookdale Farm. Though she was owned by Repole Stable for most of her racing career, she is now wearing the silks of new owner Town and Country Farms, Corp. Since being acquired by Town and Country Farms, Stopchargingmaria has put together a record of 3: 2-1-0 for total purse monies of $1,774,000. Overall, she has won 8 of 14 starts and also has three seconds and a third. The Tale of the Cat filly particularly likes it at Saratoga having compiled a 5: 4-1-0 record at The Spa.
Winning trainer Todd Pletcher was quick to point out the filly’s affinity for the nation’s oldest sporting venue. “You can see in Stopchargingmaria’s personality that she loves it here at Saratoga,” he said. “I was impressed that she battled down to the wire with Untapable. Our strategy was that we were going to try to get to the front, and Untapable came in with the same strategy. I hope she will return to Saratoga down the road.”
While “Maria’s” next race has not necessarily been decided, it looks as though Untapable will remain at The Spa. Her trainer, Steve Asmussen, lamented post-race, “Well, I wish she could’ve won. I was glad to see her away from the gates good today. She was pretty good pre-post parade, she’s just a different mare this year. [She was a] little more laid back, and not as easily agitated. With that, I think this race will prove to be very important to her going forward.” He went on to say, “I think the fractions were solid; she was pretty sharp. I think we’ll move forward off this in a big way. She needed it, we did give her a little time off [after] the Ogden Phipps [on June 6] and I think we can stay in a nice rhythm here back to the [Grade 1] Personal Ensign [on August 29].”