Glass Ceiling targets Interborough after Garland of Roses win

Glass Ceiling earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure with a 2 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Garland of Roses, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3 years old and up at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Glass Ceiling settled at the rear of the seven-horse field down the backstretch and swung wide nearing the quarter pole in pursuit of pacesetter Sadie Lady. Under Dylan Davis’ right-handed encouragement, Glass Ceiling was in command outside the final furlong marker, covering the six furlongs in 1:11.19 over the sloppy and sealed main track.

Prior to Saturday’s victory, the now five-time winner was a late-closing second to Lady Rocket in one of two divisions of the Pumpkin Pie on Oct. 31 at Belmont Park, where she earned a career-best 94 Beyer.

Trainer Charlton Baker, who owns the 4-year-old daughter of leading third-crop stallion Constitution with Michael S. Foster, said Glass Ceiling now will target the seven-furlong $100,000 Interborough on Jan. 15 at Aqueduct.

“She came out of it great. She ate up well like she always does,” Baker said. “She gets more relaxed going seven-eighths. She doesn’t need to be rushed off her feet, so that’s more beneficial than three-quarters.”

Baker said another sharp effort in the Interborough would likely result in a start in the $250,000 Barbara Fritchie (G3) on Feb. 19 at Laurel Park.

“That’s the plan. After her next start, we might go to Laurel and then give her some time off,” Baker said.

Glass Ceiling earned her first three victories while racing for trainer Danny Gargan during her sophomore campaign. After passing through the hands of several other trainers, she was claimed by Baker for $40,000 in May. She ended a 15-race slump in her fourth start for Baker with a six-length triumph in a first-level allowance tilt in September at Belmont Park three starts back. Baker said her speed figures and pedigree were enticing.

“I bred a mare to Constitution early on, and I always believed in him as a stallion,” Baker said. “She was decent enough at 3 so I figured she could be competitive at 4. I was just looking for a young horse that can get better and improve as an older horse, and she’s done that. During the wintertime up here, you can be competitive if you can run numbers in the low to mid-80s. She ran some numbers in the 90s a couple of times, so she’s exceeded my expectations.”

Glass Ceiling, bred in Kentucky by Twin Creeks Farm, is out of the stakes-placed Empire Maker mare Fighter Wing, whose dam was two-time graded stakes winner Lakenheath. Glass Ceiling boasts a consistent record of 23: 5-6-4 with earnings of $332,612.