Santa Anita: Public Assembly wins her stakes debut
Making her stakes debut, Public Assembly split horses at the top of the stretch and kicked clear under Antonio Fresu to win the Grade 3, $100,000 Royal Heroine Stakes for older fillies and mares going a mile on turf Saturday at Santa Anita.
Public Assembly (8-1) won by 1 3/4 lengths over long-shot stablemate Sun Of Hill (28-1) to lead a Phil D’Amato-trained exacta that paid $144.90 for $1. Long shots completed the superfecta. Sneaker (23-1) checked in third followed by Venganza (19-1). The 10-cent superfecta returned $1,823.60.
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After being based in the east with trainer Chad Brown, Public Assembly made her second start for D’Amato. In five previous races, she never had raced at a distance as short as a mile. In her first start for D’Amato, an entry-level allowance going 1 1/4 miles on turf, Public Assembly came from off the pace and won comfortably by 1 1/4 lengths with Fresu up.
“I told Phil after that she should run in a stakes right away,” Fresu said.
Helping to prepare for the shorter trip in the Royal Heroine, which is a lead-in to the Gamely (G1) going 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on May 26, D’Amato had Public Assembly work a fast five furlongs in 58.4 seconds.
“Coming from a mile-and-a-quarter to a mile, I kind of wanted a really sharp work to kind of get her on her toes, so she would get more interested in the race,” D’Amato said. “In a way it kind of worked out.”
Hamwood Flier (10-1), with Juan Hernández up, set an uncontested pace as Public Assembly settled in mid-pack in the 11-horse field while saving ground along the rail. At the head of the stretch, Fresu appeared full of horse and waiting for somewhere to run. When a seam did open, Public Assembly shot through and never was challenged.
“I was very confident today,” Fresu said. “The only bit of concern was it might be a little too short for her at a mile. I had a great break from the gate and a great trip saving ground. She felt really, really comfortable, even better than last time. She was traveling beautifully all the way around. I was just waiting for a gap. As soon as she saw the gap, she took off. It was impressive.”
On a turf course rated good, Public Assembly won with a time of 1:36.13 following fractions of 22.71, 46.23, 1:10.99 and 1:23.98.
Sun Of Hill’s runner-up finish was almost as impressive. With Tiago Pereira up, Sun Of Hill hopped at the break and quickly lost touch of the field. At the quarter pole she had just one horse beat. But Brazil-bred Sun Of Hill then uncorked a furious rally in the stretch to earn her first placing in a U.S. graded stakes.
Public Assembly paid $18.00, $7.20 and $5.40. Sun Of Hill returned $24.40 and $12.80. Sneaker, ridden by Drayden Van Dyke for trainer George Papaprodromou, paid $13.60.
Owned by Abbondanza Racing, Medallion Racing and Lissa Ann McNulty, 4-year-old Public Assembly is by More Than Ready. She is 6: 3-1-0 with earnings of $224,666.