HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Zealous Moon outran her odds, and then some, when winning her maiden at second asking despite going postward at a price of 49-1 earlier this fall at Keeneland. She will attempt to do so again Friday at Gulfstream Park when making her local debut against the boys in the afternoon’s $61,000 allowance and optional-claiming feature, to be decided at one mile on turf.
Zealous Moon launched her career by finishing a distant 11th over a sloppy track late last summer at Churchill Downs. But her trainer, Riley Mott, was confident Zealous Moon, whose dam, Ambitious Moon, was a three-time winner on grass, would show marked improvement once stretching out in distance and switching to turf.
The assessment proved correct when Zealous Moon rallied from midpack to a stunning half-length victory over Good Long Cry on graduation day. Good Long Cry flattered the effort by coming back to capture a maiden special weight race by 6 1/4 lengths as the 6-5 favorite five weeks later at Aqueduct.
Zealous Moon “always acted like she could run a little bit, and I knew she needed that first start on the dirt at Churchill Downs,” said Mott, who has a full barn of 37 horses stabled at Palm Meadows once again this winter. “So I wasn’t really all that surprised when she won at Keeneland. The only thing that did surprise me was that she went off at almost 50-1.”
Zealous Moon returned at a mere 7-1 when stepping up against allowance company in her next start Nov. 7 at Churchill but broke slow and was never a serious factor while beaten nearly 11 lengths in a somewhat disappointing performance. Mott gives his filly an excuse.
“Not only did she break slowly, but she took a clump of dirt in her right eye, which was a little swollen the next morning,” Mott said. “My first intention was to bring her back against fillies in a similar race here, which unfortunately did not fill.
“Obviously, it’s not ideal to run her against the opposite sex, but she’s fresh, doing well, she had a very good work over the turf at Palm Meadows just the other day, and I’m confident she’s going to run a good race Friday – even against the boys.”
Zealous Moon is one of three fillies in the headliner along with Paradise Wins and Strong Like Sara. Paradise Wins, a half-sister to stakes winner Souper Blessing, won her maiden despite a very eventful trip over the turf at Laurel Park in her third start. Strong Like Sara could prove the controlling speed while stretching out in distance for the first time off a fifth-place finish in the grassy Stewart Manor Stakes last month at Aqueduct.
Five members of the lineup are coming into the event off maiden wins, including likely favorite City of Oscars, who rallied to a popular neck decision going six furlongs over the Aqueduct turf Oct. 13. City of Oscars has been gelded since his maiden victory and is likely to garner additional support with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. taking the call.
Riley Mott has full barn
Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, will be stabled locally for the second time. He made a very good first local impression last winter, notching 13 wins during that Championship meet, highlighted by Beeline’s very game nose victory in the Hutcheson Stakes.
“We’ve got a full barn again at Palm Meadows, including Beeline, who got a little time off but hopefully will be ready to run back by late January,” Mott said. “The first year down here was super and very special to me since I was born in Hollywood, right down the street from Gulfstream, and grew up on Florida racing with my father. So it was nice to get back to what I call home.”
Mott, whose first starter at the 2024-25 Championship meet, Bellofthebluegrass, won a maiden special weight race last week, said he is pointing the improving 3-year-old Mr Skylight to the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector on Dec. 28. Mr Skylight won an overnight handicap with a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure here Nov. 7.
“Obviously, we’re taking a bit of a shot putting him in against older stakes horses, but he’s doing well and obviously likes the track, so it’s worth the chance,” Mott said.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.