New York Watch: Parting Words

Parting Words had something to say Sunday on the Aqueduct turf, coming from off the pace to break her maiden and join the New York Watch, which profiles up-and-comers that have recently cleared the maiden ranks at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course.

Making her second start, Parting Words veered outward at the break, bumping a rival to her right. She settled into a clear spot in eighth and was kept outside by jockey Ramon Dominguez along the backstretch run, split horses while making smooth headway with two furlongs left, and grabbed the lead from runner-up Celestial Kitten at the sixteenth pole to prevail by a length.

“She broke crooked and banged around with a couple of horses and they usually they don’t overcome something that severe, but she overcame all that and showed a lot of class,” said winning trainer Barclay Tagg.

Parting Words, the 7-2 third choice, ran the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:45.49, completing the final furlong in 5.88 seconds.

In her lone previous effort, a turf event at Saratoga on August 27 that has produced two other next-out winners, Parting Words finished fourth after racing three wide on both turns.

“She broke a little slow and got hung wide the entire way, and it was hard to judge her off that,” said Tagg. “But apparently her number was pretty good, so we had hopes for her. We had a couple of small setbacks with her and we couldn’t get her back into a race. It’s been a long stretch between starts, but she proved our feelings today.”

Parting Words, from the first crop of 2005 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Artie Schiller, was acquired privately by her owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Lael Stables, from her breeders, Hargus and Sandra Sexton. The juvenile is a half-sister to I Love Silver, a listed stakes winner who finished third in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 1 Malibu; The Max, a two-time black-type winner at Assiniboia Downs; and graded stakes-placed runners Chosen Chief and Maximus Ruler.