Lady Lara flies home late to win the Pebbles
Lady Lara, making her first start in the United States for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, put in a determined late run down the middle of the stretch to capture Monday's 22nd edition of the $200,000 Pebbles at Belmont Park.
With only one horse beaten turning for home, jockey Junior Alvarado had no choice but to take Lady Lara filly to the outside. Once clear, the Irish-bred Excellent Art filly took aim on front-runner Distorted Beauty and powered to a half-length win in the shadow of the wire.
"I had the whole crowd in front of me," said Alvarado. "Turning for home when I put her outside, I saw the horse in front was eight lengths in front of me. I thought, 'Oh, no.' But once she was in the clear, she really took off."
Lady Lara's winning time for a mile on the "good" Widener turf course was 1:35.31.
The victory was the second in eight starts this year for the 3-year-old Lady Lara, who began her career in England for owner Ben Sangster and entered the Pebbles off a half-length victory in the seven-furlong Dubai Duty Free Cup on September 19 at Newbury.
"We can't take much credit for the win; the previous trainer [Timothy Jarvis] gets all the credit," said Mott. "We just picked her up out of quarantine. We had been talking with Mr. Sangster about bringing her over [from England] for quite a while. It was just a matter of when she was going to come. We thought she might come earlier, but we pointed her toward this race, got her nominated and it worked out."
Sent off at 9-1, Lady Lara returned $21.20 for a $2 win bet, and more than doubled her earnings to $236,664. Mott said the filly would remain with him and might make one more start this year before getting a winter break.
"Maybe after this race or another one, we'll give her the winter off and bring her back in the spring," he said. "It looks like she's got a bright future in front of her."
Distorted Beauty held for second, three lengths in front of Walk Close. Sandiva checked in fourth, and was followed by Cash For Ever, Kenzadargent, Indian Rainbow, Secret Someone, Hot and Spicy, Munirah and Ubiquitous Mantle.
Source: Jenny Kellner/NYRA