Consumer Credit Charges in Sweetest Chant

Consumer Credit, trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Edgard Zayas, drove away from nine others down the stretch Saturday afternoon to win the $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

Owned by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence, Consumer Credit, a 3-year-old daughter of More Than Ready, claimed her third consecutive victory and second consecutive stakes win while covering a firm mile turf course in 1:35.80. After failing to win her first two starts last fall, Consumer Credit is undefeated in her last three starts, including the Nov. 29 Wait A While and Saturday's Sweetest Chant.

The victory was Brown's fourth consecutive victory in the Sweetest Chant.

Consumer Credit returned $5.60 while winning by a length over Quality Rocks. Miss Temple City was third.

“She was real unlucky the first couple starts of her career and since then, she’s put it all together," Brown said. "This was another step forward for her and we’re real excited about her throughout the year.”

Zayas rated Consumer Credit off a :24.05 opening quarter set by Miss Temple City and a :48.53 half mile set by Quality Rocks, making her first start since finishing seventh in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). Around the final turn, Zayas guided Consumer Credit off the rail and toward the outside before the filly raced by her opponents inside the final eighth of a mile.

“I had a really nice trip," Zayas said. "I knew there was a lot of speed in the race, so I just wanted to stalk and try to save as much ground as I could and try to get her clear at the end. It all worked out good. I had a ton of horse going to the wire. She’s a really nice filly. She’s getting better and better.”

Added Brown: “I was a little worried that we’d run out of real estate. I could see once he got her in the clear, her stride lengthened and she was going to go for it. I knew it was going to be a close call but thankfully she got up in time. We leave here probably with another good education. I haven’t been certain how far this filly would run. I didn’t want to promise anything beyond a mile but after the trip she got today and the way she finished, we’ll continue to try to stretch her out a sixteenth at a time and see how far she’ll go.”

Dubai Sky Takes Kitten's Joy

Dubai Sky, owned by Three Chimneys Farm and Besilu Stables and trained by Bill Mott, got up in the final strides to defeat stablemate Courtier by a head in the $100,000 Kitten's Joy while covering a mile turf course in 1:36.05. Croninthebarbarian was third.

"They both ran winning races," said Mott of Dubai Sky and Courtier.

A 3-year-old son of Candy Ride ridden by John Velazquez, Dubai Sky won his third consecutive race. In his previous start, Dubai Sky finished in a dead-heat for the win with another stablemate in Hard to Port.

After breaking his maiden at second asking Sept. 20 at Belmont, Mott gave Dubai Sky some time off before returning Dec. 20 with the dead-heat victory. Mott said Dubai Sky can be deceptive in the mornings.

"He actually works average on dirt...he's kind of lazy in the morning," Mott said. "But he shows up on race day."

Source: Gulfstream Park Communications