Leona’s Reward drives between horses to take Catlaunch

Fillies served up a thriller in the $75,000 Catlaunch Stakes Saturday at JACK Thistledown Racino, with Leona’s Reward driving between horses at the 16th pole and getting up to defeat pacesetter and fellow filly True Cinder by half a length.  Mixed Colors lost the photo for second, finishing a nose back in third.

True Cinder set a measured pace in 24.62, 49.44, 1:14.20 and 1:39.80 as jockey Pablo Morales and Leona’s Reward settled back along the rail. The ground-saving trip meant the pair had to wait for room to go, and their chance came with less than a furlong to run. Morales tipped his filly off the rail, but Mixed Colors had advanced to challenge as well, and Leona’s Reward took advantage of the hole between Mixed Colors and True Cinder.

Final time for the 1 1/16-mile race for accredited Ohio-breds 3 years old and up was 1:46.42.

“I brought Pablo in to ride her three races back (the George Lewis Memorial Handicap) because she needed to learn to settle and I knew he could teach her,” said winning trainer Tim Hamm. “She won that race (by a nose). Today she was where I wanted her, but I did get a little concerned about the half-mile pole when she was still bottled up and the other filly was loose on the lead. But I knew Pablo has an extremely strong left hand, and the lessons she learned in (the Lewis Memorial) really paid dividends today.”

Behind Mixed Colors came last year’s winner and post time favorite Eightthehardway, Daggers Duel, Seeking a Mile and Mound.

Sent off at 2-1, Leona’s Reward returned $6.20, $4 and $3.60.

Leona’s Reward improved her record to eight wins, five seconds and two thirds in 25 starts for Hamm’s Blazing Meadows Farm LLC and Michael Friedman. The 4-year-old filly was bred by Blazing Meadows Farm and is by Parents’ Reward out of the Montbrook mare Prime Time Dancer. A multiple stakes winner, Leona’s Reward has earned $326,856.