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Stanwyck, making her stakes debut off nearly a three-month layoff, captured the $200,000 Turnback the Alarm Handicap (gr. III) at odds of 21-1 by a head over favored Centring Oct. 26 at Belmont Park (VIDEO) .
A Kentucky-bred homebred for Jerry and Ann Moss, 4-year-old Stanwyck is by Empire Maker out of the multiple stakes winner Set Them Free, by Stop the Music, and is a half sister to 2005 Kentucky Derby winner (gr. I) Giacomo and dual grade I winner Tiago . She was sent off as the longest shot on the board.
With Alex Solis riding for trainer John Shirreffs, Stanwyck rallied from third off the turn when swung wide for the drive. She collared pacesetter Fantasy of Flight at the furlong mark and dug in gamely in the final sixteenth of a mile as 11-10 choice Centring bore down from the far outside. Stanwyck, guided out slightly in the closing strides as Centring turned up the pressure, was able to deny the favorite on the line.
Final time for the one-turn test of older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles was 1:42.62 on a fast track.
"I saved ground and got a good position down on the inside," Solis said. "I just had to be patient. At the three-sixteenths pole I got out in the clear and she went by (Fantasy of Flight) and had to wait a little bit. She picked it up and finished strong to fight (Centring) down the stretch."
Stanwyk had been racing on turf recently and was making her first start on dirt since breaking her maiden by a nose going a mile at Santa Anita Park one year and a day ago.
Fantasy of Flight, ridden by John Velazquez, took the eight-horse field through solid quarter mile fractions of :23.67, :46.81, and 1:11.28 before being overtaken. She held third, 4 1/4 lengths behind Centring and Joel Rosario. Then came Royal Lahaina, Lady Cohiba, Moon Philly, Street Secret, and Roman Invader.
Stanwyck, freshened since a fifth-place finish in an allowance/optional claiming race July 31 on the inner turf at Saratoga Race Course, improved her career mark to 3-1-3 in 10 starts with earnings of $222,650.
"Training in Saratoga on the hill in the back and on the Oklahoma training track really helped her a lot," Shirreffs said. "I had 12 up there with (assistant trainer) David Figueroa. David did a great job with her. She has been at Saratoga since the end of the meet.
"This filly has trained so well in the morning. She just hadn't done it in the afternoon, but she trained like a graded stakes horse in the morning. We just had to transfer that form to the afternoon."
Stanwyck carried 117 pounds and paid $44.80, $9.90, and $5.10. Centring, heavily favored to win her first graded stakes while dropping out of grade I company, returned $3.10 and $2.60. She completed a $158.50 exacta. Fantasy of Flight paid $3.90.
"She got hung wide and when you get beat a (head), that makes a difference.," said Tom Albertrani, trainer of Centring. "She ran her race. We're happy enough; we just have to wait for the next one."
