SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When entries were taken last week for a pair of historic 2-year-old stakes to be contested at Saratoga, Florida's Arindel Farm faced a decision with its debut-winning homebred Mythical. Ultimately, the filly was supplemented to face males in the $150,000 Tremont Stakes - with the same purse, and at the same 5 1/2-furlong distance as the Astoria Stakes for fillies. Both races came up with short fields, with the Astoria topped by dazzling debut winner Sassy C W.
"Entry day, they looked, and they figured that [Mythical] has tons of speed, and there was a little more speed in the fillies race," trainer Jorge Delgado said. "We wouldn't run away from anybody, but we wanted to have her in [the right place] for the way she runs and to develop that speed."
Mythical continued to develop by beating the boys by 3 1/2 lengths in the 127th running of the Tremont Stakes, while shortly afterward, Sassy C W overcame some trouble to deliver a three-length score in the 113th edition of the Astoria.
The two fillies had been the fastest 2-year-olds, among both males and females entered in Thursday's stakes, at the early-season debut distance of 4 1/2 furlongs. Sassy C W, who is trained by Larry Rivelli for Patricia's Hope LLC and Carolyn Wilson, never led by fewer than five lengths while winning her debut on April 30 at Churchill Downs under a hand ride, stopping the clock in 51.34 seconds. Earlier in the month, Mythical rolled to an 8 1/2-length win in her April 17 bow at Gulfstream Park, finishing in 51.37.
The much faster time on Thursday, on what was already a hot, humid afternoon, was turned in by Mythical ($5.70), perhaps moving to the head of this nascent division coming into the summer stakes. She raced 5 1/2 furlongs on the fast Saratoga track in 1:03.57. Two races later, Sassy C W ($2.90), who encountered some trouble and was ridden a bit differently in the lane, finished in 1:06.04.
Mythical, by St Patrick's Day, broke running under Emisael Jaramillo despite being bumped. She was already on top by 1 1/2 lengths through an opening quarter of 22.20 and never led by less than that at any point of call. Blinging It Back, sent away favored off a green third on debut, gave brave chase through the lane, but the filly easily held sway, continuing to dig in through the stretch to extend her margin. Jaramillo used his stick in the stretch.
"I hit her twice just as a way of learning to race," Jaramillo said.
In records on the New York Racing Association website, the only filly listed as a Tremont winner is Rosie O'Greta in 1995.
"She just wants to run," Delgado said. "She's born to be a runner. When she hears the bell, she just wants to go."
Two races later, all eyes were on Sassy C W, from the well-regarded first crop of Grade 1-winning sprinter Yaupon, as she was sent away a heavy favorite in the Astoria. The filly had to work to make the lead early, as she stumbled in the first jump, was last for a stride, and then worked her way between horses. Despite that, she'd already opened a two-length lead through the quarter in 21.92.
"She's a very smart filly," said Jareth Loveberry, who also rode her in her first race. "Nothing really bothers her. Even stumbling out of the gate like that, it didn't bother her. She's a quick filly, gathered herself pretty good after that, and she's very mature. The way she recovered after that, I didn't have to ask her to go. She was just moving."
Sassy C W came into the stretch with a three-length lead and held that margin to the wire. After urging the filly in upper stretch, Loveberry showed Sassy C W the stick a final time near the sixteenth pole, then wrapped up on her in the final strides.
Gena B, who had been second on debut, came on to be a clear second again here.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.