Mylady Curlin noses out Golden Award in Pimlico's duPont Distaff

Sather Family’s Mylady Curlin dueled the length of the stretch with Golden Award before getting her nose down on the wire to win Friday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Allaire duPont Distaff at Pimlico Race Course.

The 26th running of the 1 1/8-mile Allaire duPont for fillies and mares was the last of seven stakes, four graded, worth $1.15 million on the 14-race Black-Eyed Susan Day program.

Mylady Curlin ($8.60) extended her win streak to three races in her stakes debut, finishing up in 1:47.64 over a fast main track. Gio Game was five lengths behind Golden Award in third, with Another Broad fourth.

“We’ve liked her from the get-go," said trainer Brad Cox. "She’s a nice filly. She ran a big race at Keeneland the other day [winning an optional claimer on April 25]. Even though it was a four-horse field, she had a wide trip. Luis [Saez] rode her that day; the only thing I asked him to do [today] was to ask her to run away from there.

"I think having the lead and the rail was a nice place. I thought she fit well with these horses on paper. She got some good figures. The one thing I was concerned about was running her back a little quickly off the allowance race, but she was training well and looked good.”

 The winning time was the fastest in 15 editions of the duPont to be run at nine furlongs, besting the 1:48.70 set by Ajina in 1998. Run as the Pimlico Distaff from 1992-2005, the duPont was contested at 1 1/16 miles from 2002-13.

Saez settled Mylady Curlin on the lead, setting fractions of 24.23 and 47.89 seconds tracked by Golden Award and jockey Tyler Gaffalione to her outside. The two leaders remained together around the far turn after six furlongs in 1:11.50 and were set down for the drive through the stretch, neither willing to give an inch, as Mylady Curlin won the head-bob.

It was the second stakes win of the afternoon for Cox following Covfefe’s track record-setting performance in the $150,000 Adena Springs Miss Preakness (G3).