OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Iron Orchard had won her first two starts with ease against New York-bred competition, going to the lead and winning by open lengths. Saturday, facing open company for the first time, Iron Orchard showed a new dimension, coming from off the pace and outfinishing a rail-rallying Rileytole to win the Grade 1 $400,000 Frizette by a nose.
Rileytole was second by 4 1/4 lengths over the late-running Five Bars. Steer Clear finished fourth, followed, in order, by Lovely Christina, 2-1 favorite Carmel Coast, Jetty’s Home, Rina’s Revenge, and Chopsticks. Icecreamforevryone was eased and was walked onto the equine ambulance.
While a potential stepping stone to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Oct. 31 at Del Mar, winning trainer Danny Gargan was noncommittal after the race about traveling cross country.
“Right now, we’ll be happy and enjoy this,” Gargan said. “She’s done a lot this year. We’ll see how it goes. There’s next year. She’s a young filly. The way she ran today, maybe in the future she’ll be able to go two turns. I’m just happy the way it went today.
“She’s a talented filly. We’ve always known that, but today she showed another dimension. It was really special, it was fun to watch.”
Not the first part.
Gargan said he trained Iron Orchard a little differently in between the six-furlong Seeking the Ante Stakes on Aug. 22 at Saratoga and the one-mile Frizette. His goal was to get Iron Orchard to relax enough to sit off a horse or two. But with Carmel Coast and Rileytole speeding off, racing heads apart through a half-mile in 44.84 seconds, Iron Orchard, under Joel Rosario, was sixth, 2 1/2 lengths off the pace.
“I’m not going to lie – the first 200 yards into the race, I thought, ‘Man, I’ve done a bad job training this filly because she’s relaxed more than I wanted her to,” Gargan said.
Around the far turn, Rosario launched a four-wide bid on Iron Orchard as Steer Clear got involved and Rileytole appeared to be laboring. In the stretch, Steer Clear and Carmel Coast were still battling on the lead, but a resurgent Rileytole, under Reylu Guttierez, dove to the rail while Iron Orchard was coming five wide. Iron Orchard kept coming and was able to outfinish Rileytole to the wire.
“You just got to look back and say, ‘God, what a good ride,' ” Gargan said. “He didn’t engage those horses, he sat. She’s difficult, she was grabbing at the bridle kind of with her head cocked, but that’s kind of her in the mornings also. I feel blessed she pulled that off.”
Iron Orchard, a daughter of Authentic owned by Randy Hill and CLSR Racing managed by Bill Childs, covered the mile in 1:35.97 and returned $6.90 as the second choice, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 79.
Rosario said he was further off the pace than he expected to be.
“I don’t want to be that far back, but the pace was good and she was not on the bridle, not taking me,” Rosario said. “I was trying to get attention. She kept coming and fighting it out the whole time, which was the right way to do it today.”
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