Noble Beauty placed first in Pucker Up

The final race of the Arlington International Festival of Racing would prove no less dramatic than the card’s earlier events when the winner of the Grade III $100,000 Pucker Up Stakes was decided by the stewards over a matter of minutes. Great Point Stables’ Noble Beauty was piloted by the day’s leading rider Florent Geroux, who settled the 3-year-old daughter of Kitten’s Joy near the rear of the compact field early, was 4¼ lengths off the leaders entering the stretch while moving to the outside of horses, and still was able to call on the Chad Brown trainee for a powerful run to just miss first by a nose.

 

Corey Lanerie, aboard Stefanie Carroll’s Mike Maker trainee Try Your Luck, tracked the early leaders through opening fractions of 24.29, 49.43, and 1:13.74, hitting the front as they entered the stretch of the 1 1/8-miles turf stake in 1:37.86. Headed by Sanford Robertson’s post-time favorite Auntie Joy under Brian Hernandez, Jr. leaving the turn, Try Your Luck floated the Brendan Walsh trainee out down the straight, leading her to finish a head behind Noble Beauty. The final time of the race was 1:50.09.

 

Immediately following the finish of the race the stewards posted an inquiry into the stretch run. Hernandez lodged an objection against Lanerie for interference in the stretch. After reviewing the race, the stewards disqualified Try Your Luck from first and placed her third behind Auntie Joy, promoting Noble Beauty to the winner.

 

“I thought the filly ran terrific,” Brown said of Noble Beauty’s effort. “Challenging post (11 in a field of 12), once again Florent found the right way home. We got lucky there, there was some interference in the lane, and I thought our filly did run the best race so I think she’s a deserving winner.”

 

Being adjudged the victor made it the fourth graded-stakes win on the card, and five on the day overall for Geroux, who was victorious earlier with Mendota in the second race, as well as Da Big Hoss (Grade III American St. Leger), Beach Patrol (Grade I Secretariat), and Sea Calisi (Grade I Beverly D.).

 

“It’s always fun to come back here, to where I got started,” Geroux said. “I know the track like my pocket, and it’s like playing home court advantage. It’s a magnificent turf course, definitely one of the best ones in the country and it’s always fun when you ride good horses.”

 

“We had a good trip up until the 1/8 pole when the winner, he kind of pointed her out and bumped into us at one point, and then from there just kept herding us out,” Hernandez said of the race. “It definitely cost our filly a lot – anytime you try to get by a horse and they keep coming into your path it makes it really difficult to get by them.”

 

“My filly drifted a touch but the horse was running away from her,” Lanerie remarked after the stewards announced the disqualification. “I thought it was a bad call. I laid third, had the perfect trip, let my horse come to [the leader]. She was alone by herself so she may have drifted just a touch, but I only hit her twice then hand rode her in. They were never going to beat her.”

 

Noble Beauty returned $7.20, $3.80 and $2.60 to her backers. Auntie Joy paid $3.20 and $2.60, while Try Your Luck returned $3.60. With the winner’s share of $55,800, Noble Beauty increased her lifetime earnings to $127,350 with two wins in five career starts.

 

Nawlins Kitty, Miss Gossip (IRE), Galilea, Bonita Cat, Mom’s Choice, Inconclusive, Fitpitcher, Princess Erindelle, and Nobody’s Fault completed the order of finish. Felt in Pocket and Havana Dream were scratched from the race.

 

Earlier in the card, 10 3-year-old colts and geldings went one mile on the main track in the $77,000 Bruce D. Memorial Stakes. Jose Lezcano guided Fortino, Inc.’s homebred Yo Carm to a win for trainer Chris Block. The colt by Flatter was mid-field early while eventual runner-up, Sugar Daddy Stables and Daniel Rodriguez’s Runningfromthefeds, set early fractions of 23.34, 45.78, 1:10.30 and 1:23.03 on the front end under E.T. Baird. The Leo Rodriguez trainee was two lengths clear entering the stretch, but was run down late to lose by half a length. Maggi Moss’ Tom Amoss-trained Pilot House tracked the runner-up throughout with Jose Valdivia, Jr. aboard, went outside of horses in the stretch but had to settle for third by three-quarters of a length. The final time for the race was 1:36.47.

 

“He broke good, and I got a very good trip inside the whole way,” Lezcano said of his ride. “At the 3/16’s pole we went out a little bit, and he came on great. He ran a very good race.”

 

Yo Carm returned $24, $10.40, and $6 to his backers, while Runningfromthefeds paid $5.20 and $3.60. Sent off by the public as the co-favorite in the wagering, Pilot House returned $3.60. With the winner’s share of $43,890 Yo Carm increased his lifetime earnings to $96,862 with three wins in 10 career starts.