Embellish the Lace Wires the Alabama
The 2015 running of the Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga was supposed to provide some clarity to the three-year-old filly division. With the grade one winners from the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn, Mother Goose, and Coaching Club American Oaks assembled, it was expected that one of those fillies would step to the forefront. Instead, the Tony Dutrow trainee, Embellish the Lace, would join that list with a decisive gate to wire win in the mile and a quarter race.
Embellish the Lace came to Saratoga with only two career wins, the best was an 13-length victory in a June Pimlico allowance. Her most recent start was a distant ninth place finish in the Mother Goose. The daughter of Super Saver, who is a half-sister of the 2010 Travers winner Afleet Express, must have liked the training conditions in Dutrow’s Saratoga barn.
After the race the joyful Dutrow commented, "I always hoped of winning a race like that, and when it comes, it's just so gratifying, so humbling, so magical. And special is a great word which sums up all that."
Right out of the starting gate jockey Javier Castellano inherited the lead with Embellish the Lace while Acorn and CCA Oaks winner Curalina ran in second and Kentucky Oaks victor Lovely Maria was in third. Castellano was able to carve out 24 second fractions all the around the track with splits of 24.03, 48.38, 1:12.85, 1:37.33. That allowed the Alex and JoAnn Leiblong runner to hit the wire 1 ¼ lengths ahead in 2:01.97.
Castellano did not anticipate the race to play out the way that it did. "I didn't expect her to be on the lead but nobody went,” said the winning rider. “We put up good numbers all the way, and it paid off. I thought there was more speed in the race but nobody wanted to go. I tried to rate a little bit the first turn, but nobody wanted to take it, so I took it. I knew they were coming, but the way she turned for home, I had so much confidence. When I asked her a little bit she took off. The one thing about her is she goes all day. She passed the wire and she galloped out strong."
The top five runners stayed in the same positions from start to the mile mark. Include Betty who had been at the back of the seven-horse field tried to make her usual late rally, but Embelllish the Lace was not tiring. I’m a Chatterbox was able to pass Curalina down the stretch and get second place.
Larry Jones, who trained both Lovely Maria and I’m a Chatterbox, said, "They got loose [on the lead]. [I’m a Chatterbox] kind of got put in tight and had to get back up on her feet at the start, so she started off a little farther back than we wanted. But she got a good trip. We were planning on being closer than we were. [Kerwin Clark aboard Lovely Maria] said he thought he was a winner turning for home, she just got a little tired."
Embellish the Lace upped her career record to 5: 3-0-0 with earnings of $413,340. Sent off as the 6-1 fifth choice, she paid $14.00, $8.00, and $4.60.
The Alabama added yet another three-year-old filly to the ranks of grade one winner and at the same time it became even clearer that the unbeaten turf superstar, Lady Eli is on her way to this division’s Eclipse Award.