Goldeneye Magic, the longest shot on the board, nailed favored Peignoir on the wire for a nose win in the $250,000 Lady Jacqueline Stakes on Saturday at Thistledown. The nine-furlong affair, for open fillies and mares, was the richest of four stakes on the Ohio Derby undercard.
Goldeneye Magic was making her stakes debut for owner-trainer Jason DaCosta, although she had won 4 of 7 career starts and only missed the board once coming in. She returned $65 for the win in a race ripe for an upset after the trainer scratch of Grade 3 winner Where’s My Ring.
Peignoir was sent away favored after knocking at the door all year, finishing second in the Wayward Lass at Tampa, third in the Trivstia Overnight at Oaklawn, winning an allowance at Keeneland, and, most recently finishing fourth in the Allaire duPont Distaff at Pimlico, a race won by Grade 1 winner Candied.
Goldeneye Magic, with Fernando Salazar Becerra in the irons, was fourth of seven after the opening half-mile of the Lady Jacqueline, with Peignoir just behind her in fifth. They were farther back than any other stakes winner had been thus far on the day; in the three stakes preceding, two winners set the pace and in the other the eventual winner sat a closely stalking third early.
Peignoir got the first run, as she fanned three wide into the stretch around pacesetter Red Hot Lass, with multi-time Ohio-bred champion Candlelight Hours challenging for the lead. Peignoir edged clear in the stretch and appeared home free, but Goldeneye Magic, still fourth in midstretch, appeared on the scene late and nailed her at the wire. Behind the top two, it was 2 1/2 lengths to Just Be Quiet in third.
The final time for the nine furlongs on a fast track was 1:52.44.
The Lady Jacqueline was preceded by three $75,000 stakes for Ohio-bred or Ohio-accredited runners.
Cleveland Gold Cup
With a well-rationed ride from Erik Barbaran, Superwolf set the pace but had plenty left to defeat favored Fortissimo by 9 1/4 lengths in the $75,000 Cleveland Gold Cup for Ohio-bred 3-year-olds.
Superwolf broke from the outside post in the field of eight, and Barbaran used him early to get over and save some ground, dictating terms through an opening quarter of 22.83 seconds. He was then able to give the gelding a breather through a half-mile in 47.44. Barbaran let Superwolf run on into the far turn, and the gelding got some separation on the field that the others were not able to overcome. He finished the 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.98 and returned $8.20.
Superwolf, trained by Robert Gorham for his family operation, has now won three career stakes, including last fall’s Best of Ohio Juvenile.
George Lewis Memorial
Villian ($2.80) got back on his preferred surface for a win in the $75,000 George Lewis Memorial, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race for Ohio-accredited runners ages 3 and up. The 4-year-old gelding, who is trained and co-owned by Tim Hamm, had previously been second in the Best of Ohio Sydney Gendelman Stakes on June 6 at Belterra, running on the turf in the only two-turn option of that day for older horses.
Villian and Jose Ortiz reeled in loose longshot leader Oklahoma Joe with a sustained run around the far turn and then continued on with steady urging for a three-length win. Oklahoma Joe held a clear second over Mister Mobil. The time was 1:46.28.
Dr. T.F. Classen Memorial
Authoritarian Girl ($4) stepped back into stakes company with authority, setting the pace and having plenty in the tank to pull away for a 7 1/2-length win in the $75,000 Dr. T.F. Classen Memorial, a six-furlong race for Ohio-accredited fillies and mares, leaving defending race winner Lofty Cowtown in her wake in second. She stopped the clock in 1:11.53.
Authoritarian Girl, who is trained by Marco Ibarra for James McDonald and Authentic Racing, came in having won four of her five outings prior to the Classen Memorial. However, those were in claiming and allowance company. She had not started in a stakes race since winning the Emerald Necklace in October 2023 at Thistledown.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.