Tobys Heart overcomes slow start to stay perfect in Bolton Landing

Making her stakes debut Wednesday on the Saratoga turf course, Tobys Heart closed late to stay perfect in two starts in the $85,000 Bolton Landing Stakes going 5 1/2 furlongs. 

Tobys Heart broke poorly from post No. 6 and took an extremely wide trip, but tracked down the Steve Asmussen-trained Joy’s Rocket in the stretch to win by a little more than a length.

“She was pulling me a little bit early,” winning jockey Jose Ortiz said after the race. “I got her to relax a little bit right before we hit the turn and then when I tapped her on the shoulder when I wanted to move approaching the quarter pole, she was there for me the whole time.”

Trained by Brian Lynch, the 2-year-old daughter of Jack Milton out Pick of the Pack, by Lil’s Lad, broke her maiden June 4 at Churchill Downs going the same distance. She was slow from the gate in that victory as well, though Ortiz hasn't been fazed by Tobys Heart's slow starts.

“I felt she was very relaxed inside the gate,” Ortiz said. “Sometimes with these kind of horses on the turf you’d rather break a little bit slow. I was good with the way she broke today.”

Tobys Heart was most recently sold for $45,000 at the 2020 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company March 2-year-olds sale. She is owned by Lynch along with Terry Hamilton.

Splits for the race were :22.21, :45.41 and :56.63. The winning time was 1:02.31. Tobys Heart returned $3.10 with the victory.

Hara, trained by Antonio Sano pulled up in the gallop and was vanned off, a NYRA representative confirmed on Twitter after the race. All 2-year-old races in New York are being run without the anti-bleeding medication Lasix.