Stronger Than Ever upsets Wonder Gadot in Silverbulletday Stakes
By Christine Oser
Stronger Than
Ever lived up to her name Saturday, defying 33-1 odds to top Wonder
Gadot after a stretch battle in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair
Grounds.
After finishing seventh in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes and third in the Trapeze Stakes as a 2 year old, Stronger Than Ever opened up her 3-year-old season just right, picking up 10 points toward the 2018 Kentucky Oaks starting gate.
Trained by Kenny McPeek for Fern Circle Stables, the daughter of Congrats saved her running for the end of the one mile and 70 yards event.
“She did everything like she was supposed to do,” said McPeek’s assistant trainer Greg Geier. “Hopefully we can go from here. I thought she would run well especially with the pace that was in the race and we just let them sit there and wait and make one big run. She ran a good race at Remington, she stuck wide out there and got a little tired but she did fine today."
Early on, Shes Our Fastest tried to outrun the Mark Casse duo of 2-1 favorite Wonder Gadot and second choice Heavenly Love.
After opening fractions of :23.57 and :47.43 from Shes Our Fastest, Wonder Gadot swept to the lead under John Velazquez and looked loaded for a big race, taking three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.69. The Medaglia d’Oro filly was cross-entered in the Silverbulletday and the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes against the boys, but her connections opted to go against the fillies off a victory in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes last month at Aqueduct.
Rallying all the way from last in the eight-horse field was Stronger Than Ever with jockey Florent Geroux. The pair gave Wonder Gadot and Velazquez an unexpected fight. Once the longshot stuck her nose in front, that was it. Wonder Gadot fought back hard, but ultimately finished a neck back in second. The final time was 1:44.28.
“I thought she ran well. We just got unlucky,” Casse said of Wonder Gadot. “She fought on and she probably wants a little more ground where she doesn’t have to be so aggressive early. It’ll be interesting because I think the time will end up being fairly good. I’ve got to think about (running in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra on Feb. 17), but probably.”
Missive and Blonde Bomber improved to capture third and fourth respectively, while Heavenly Love faded to fifth. Terra’s Angel, America’s Tale and Shes Our Fastest completed the order of finish. Saguaro Row, Remember Daisy, Stellar Moon and Noblame were scratched.
The win was worth $68.40, and Stronger Than Ever’s share of the purse increased her earnings to $174,846. Purchased for $310,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September sale, her record now stands at 5-3-0-1.