Dayoutoftheoffice fends off Vequist to stay perfect in Frizette
Dayoutoftheoffice stamped herself as a serious player in next month's Breeders' Cup when pressing the pace and spurting clear in the final quarter mile to win the $250,000 Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park on Saturday.
Co-owned by breeder Siena Farm and trainer Timothy Hamm, Dayoutoftheoffice improved to 3-for-3 with another graded-stakes score following her win last out in the July 16 Schuylerville (G3) at Saratoga. With the win, she earned a berth in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland Race Course on Nov. 6.
The Frizette is also the first Grade 1 win for Hamm, who has been a trainer on his own since 1996.
Sent off the 5-2 second choice, Dayoutoftheoffice and jockey Junior Alvarado sat just outside of Joy's Rocket behind opening fractions of 22.94 and 46.41 for the one-mile, one-turn Frizette with odds-on favorite Vequist stalking along the inside. The field was little changed until midway through the turn, when Dayoutoftheoffice accelerated to the lead while reaching the quarter pole in 1:10.98.
Luis Saez eased Vequist to the outside and set off in pursuit, but it was to no avail. Dayoutoftheoffice continued on straight and strong through the lane to prevail by two lengths. Final time on a fast track was 1:35.82, which wasn't far off the 1:35.42 posted by Jackie's Warrior winning the Champagne (G1) one race earlier.
Vequist was followed across the wire by 25-1 longshot Cilla with pacesetter Joy's Rocket checking in fourth. Dayoutoftheoffice paid $7.80
By Into Mischief, Dayoutoftheoffice was a debut winner at Gulfstream Park going 4 1/2 furlongs in May prior to the 6 1/2-furlong Schuylerville, paid $7.80. Hamm noted the plan had been to campaign the filly lightly this season with an eye towards the Breeders' Cup and beyond.
"She's a big, scopey filly and I wanted to have some horse for the end of the year," Hamm said. "The plan was to have a fresh horse for this time of the year. We wanted to just train her a little lightly and have her fresh for the fall run. Everything went according to plan.
"When you put a plan together that works - the team of Siena Farm and myself and all our assistants - you feel vindicated," Hamm continued. "We all thought this filly was special when she won at 4 1/2 [furlongs] because we knew she would be able to get longer than that."