OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Jockey Frankie Dettori’s first winner in New York came in 1991 when he guided a filly named Shaima to a 7-1 victory in the then-Grade 2, $100,000 Long Island Handicap at Aqueduct. Thirty-three years later, the 53-year-old Dettori won it again on Sunday when he put Be Your Best on the lead and she held on for a desperate nose victory over No Show Sammy Jo in what is now the Grade 3, $300,000 Long Island Stakes at Aqueduct.
While Dettori, who became a champion jockey in Europe, won countless group and graded stakes in between his two Long Island victories, Sunday’s win was the first in a graded race for Be Your Best, who had been 0 for 12 in such races. One of those defeats was a second-place finish in the Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita, the only other time Be Your Best was put on the lead.
On Sunday, Dettori said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. left the tactics up to him, but Joseph in a separate interview said that getting to the lead was the ideal scenario.
“We left it up to Frankie, if she can get to the lead, we’d like that, if not ride your race,” said Joseph, who was starting Be Your Best for just the second time. “He had to ride her to the lead, it turned out to be a good decision. We were hoping we could get to the lead, she ran well in California, like that in the American Oaks.”
Dettori rode Be Your Best aggressively to open up a two-length lead after an opening quarter in 24.23 seconds. She maintained a clear advantage through splits of 49.06 seconds for the half-mile and 1:14.65 for six furlongs. Dettori was able to spurt clear around the third turn.
:: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets.
Meanwhile, No Show Sammy Jo, about 7 1/2 lengths off the pace in ninth, was swung wide by Flavien Prat for the stretch drive. Though eight wide in the lane, No Show Sammy Jo rallied furiously in the lane, appeared to get her head in front a jump before the wire, but came up on the wrong end of the bob while finishing 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Immensitude.
“I was going the pace that I wanted to, she wasn’t going slow but she wasn’t going flat-out,” Dettori said. “She was in a good rhythm, she was pricking her ears and nobody bothered me up front. When I stole those two lengths at the top of the stretch, I was hard to catch.”
Watching the race on television from Florida, Joseph wasn’t sure Be Your Best won.
“Watching live I thought we got nailed, when they slowed it down, I thought we held on,” Joseph said. “When it took so long [to post the order of finish] I was hoping for a dead heat.”
Joseph had added an extension blinker to Be Your Best’s equipment for the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive, where she finished sixth. Since it didn’t help her much, Joseph opted to take it off for this race.
Be Your Best, an Irish-bred daughter of Muhaarar owned by Mike Ryan, covered the 1 3/8 miles over firm ground in 2:14.36 and returned $21.80 to win.
No Show Sammy Jo had won four consecutive races before making her graded debut here. Seeing where No Show Sammy Jo was down the backside and at the quarter pole, trainer Graham Motion thought his filly had too much to do to win.
“She was not far off being the horse, right?” Motion said. “She’s obviously this good. I thought he left her a lot to do, I didn’t think she was going to get there, to be honest. I was surprised she got that close.”
Venecia takes Forever Together
Venencia, off a step slow, flew home in the stretch under Manny Franco to wear down Breath Away and win the $135,000 Forever Together Stakes by a neck. Breath Away finished second by two lengths over Root Cause.
The first- and third-place finishers were trained by Chad Brown as was fourth-place finisher Delahaye, the 2-5 favorite. Delahaye was vanned off after the race and was reported to have bled.
Venencia won for the second time in six starts but for the first time in two years since she debuted in France for Carlos Laffon-Parias. Venencia has had a tendency to break slow, something she did again on Sunday, but Franco appeared okay with that.
Venencia was 11 lengths off the pace after the opening half-mile in a race where Quarrel set a realistic pace of 23.86 seconds for the quarter and 47.21 for the half-mile.
Franco saved ground early, tipped Venencia into the clear late and was able to run by Breath Away, who under Dylan Davis had taken the lead in midstretch. Venencia was moving rapidly and she had to, as Breath Away wasn’t stopping.
“She always gets off slow, but I wasn’t in a hurry with her because that’s her style, so the pace helped me a lot,” Franco said. “When I swung wide I have so much horse, when I hit the clear she just took off. She took a little bit to get there because [Breath Away], I got to give her credit, she was running, too.”
Venencia, a French-bred daughter of Recoletos owned by Bradley Thoroughbreds, Laura Leigh Stable, Jim Cone, and Belmar Racing and Breeding and trained by Chad Brown, covered the 1 1/16 miles over firm ground in 1:49.76 and returned $15.60 as the third choice.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.