FRANKLIN, Ky. – Blue Godolphin silks. Trainer Bill Mott. Jockey Junior Alvarado. A 3-year-old in a seven-figure Kentucky stakes.
Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby? Nope. This was Quiet Street in the Untapable Stakes, and while this could not compare with Sovereignty’s win on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, Quiet Street definitely impressed on the first Sunday in September at Kentucky Downs.
Ridden with great patience by Alvarado, Quiet Street quickened beautifully when Alvarado pushed the button, out-finishing favored Snow Face Princess to win the $1 million Untapable by one length.
A debut winner going 5 1/2 furlongs on grass at Saratoga, Quiet Street looked like a filly who would appreciate at least the additional furlong she got in the Untapable. And after churning to the front in the final half-furlong, still having failed to switch her leads, Quiet Street did her very best work – or at least on par with her initial strong move – after finally switching to her right lead. She burst past the wire while going away from Snow Face Princess, who was narrowly favored over Quiet Street. The margin of victory was one length. Quiet Street clocked 1:14.80 for the 6 1/2 furlongs on a firm course and paid $6.64.
Snow Face Princess, who got a good enough stalking trip, could not finish with the winner while coming home a half-length better than Believe in Magic, a 24-1 shot who snared third. Z Z’s, well-bet third choice at 3-1, raced very wide around the turn and finished evenly for sixth.
Alvarado, who works closely with the Mott stable and won his first stakes race here, said Quiet Street surprised connections in winning her debut. That required a second-start step up in class, and Quiet Street was ready for it. Alvarado shortly after the break guided his mount right over to the fence, where he sat around most of the turn before angling outside for a clear run. Even as Quiet Street came into the race, establishing a position from which to make her run, Alvarado waited and waited.
“That’s just kind of the way she wants to be ridden. I was just kind of biding my time, just waiting there and making sure she was ready, because I knew I was going to have horse,” Alvarado said. “She was very powerful at the end.”
Quiet Street, by Street Boss out of Serene, by Tapit, has a lot of leg to her for a turf sprinter. “And she knows how to use them,” Alvarado said. The jockey, at least, thinks the filly can go longer. She’s done nothing wrong yet. Not Sovereignty, not the Derby, but a promising showing from Quiet Street in the Untapable at Kentucky Downs.
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