'She gallops all day'; No catching Mean Mary in Gulfstream's Orchid

Alex G. Campbell Jr.’s Mean Mary led from start to finish to win her third straight race with authority in the Grade 3, $100,000 Orchid presented by on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

The 56th running of the Orchid, a 1 3/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares, was one of 10 stakes, six graded, worth $1.825 million in purses on a 14-race program headlined by the Florida Derby (G1).

“I was very pleased,” said trainer Graham Motion. “This was kind of our Plan B and you always worry when you go to a backup plan. But she’s so classy and she handles everything so well. She gallops all day.”

Mean Mary was in complete control throughout the race under jockey Luis Saez, setting fractions of 24.41 and 48.81 seconds for the first half-mile while showing the way comfortably along the front-stretch, stalked by Beau Belle and Gentle Ruler.

The even-money favorite went unchallenged along the backstretch and continued to lead the way into the stretch, kicking in strongly through the lane to turn back a mild bid by Gentle Ruler and score by a length.

“When she broke from the gate, she was on her way comfortably,” said hot-riding Saez, following his 12th victory in the past three days. “She’s a nice filly. She’s really improving. Today she was more comfortable. She’s really learning.”

Gentle Ruler finished second under Chris Landeros, 3 ¾ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Elizabeth Way and jockey Paco Lopez.

Mean Mary, who ran 1 3/8 miles in 2:11.73 over a firm course, captured her second straight graded stakes Saturday and her four victory in five starts since being switched to turf racing in her second career start. The 4-year-old daughter of Scat Daddy most recently captured the Jan. 25 La Prevoyante (G3) by five lengths in front-running style.