Spaliday won her first stakes race, the Boiling Spring, last summer at Monmouth Park and affirmed her fondness for the local lawn with a last-to-first victory Sunday in the $102,000 Miss Liberty Stakes.
Off slowly and squeezed back to the rear of a seven-horse field, Spaliday stayed in last down the backstretch and into the far turn, where she began picking up steam, making a three-wide move while covered up by 7-5 favorite Mission of Joy, who ran wide with no cover.
Spaliday came into the homestretch with some momentum, changed leads past the three-sixteenths marker, and hit a gear no one else in the Miss Liberty came close to matching. Mohawk Trail drifted into her path at the sixteenth pole, but Spaliday paid no heed and stormed home a 2 1/2-length winner under Samuel Marin.
Joyful Lass, who set a slow pace, held second, a half-length in front of third-place Mohawk Trail. Mission of Joy had nothing for the stretch run and checked in last. Spaliday paid $9.20 and was timed in 1:43.35 for 1 1/16 miles over firm turf.
Chad Brown trains Spaliday for owner Peter Brant. The 4-year-old filly, now a four-time winner from just 10 starts, is by More Than Ready and out of the City Zip mare, Dayatthespa, the Brown-trained Eclipse Award winner as champion female turf horse of 2014.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.