Part the Seas took full advantage of a torrid pace duel to land her first graded stakes victory from off the pace at odds of 14-1 in the $147,722 Bessarabian Stakes (Can-III) Dec. 1 at Woodbine (VIDEO).
The 4-year-old daughter of Stormy Atlantic has proven to be a profitable claim for Bear Stables and trainer Michael De Paulo, who took the Sam-Son Farms homebred for $62,500 out of an Aug. 3 allowance/optional claiming race at Woodbine. Part the Seas won the Avowal Stakes on turf in her next start and was most recently a good third in the off-the-turf River Memories Stakes Oct. 19.
It was a good weekend at Woodbine for Bear Stables, which won the Kennedy Road Stakes (Can-III) Nov. 30 with 17-1 outsider Bear No Joke.
Jockey Jim McAleney guided Part to the Seas through seam between horses past mid-stretch in the filly and mare test and she burst through to take the lead at the sixteenth pole en route to a 1 3/4-length tally. Part the Seas, winning for the fourth time in seven starts at the seven-furlong distance, was timed in 1:22.31 over the Polytrack.
Mekong Delta, a 40-1 shot ridden by Gerry Olguin, nipped Strike the Moon and Luis Contreras for second by a head.
Part the Seas was last in the field of 10 down the backstretch while saving ground as Purely Hot on the outside, Dene Court between horses, and 8-5 favorite Youcan'tcatchme vied three across for the lead. They took the battle through the turn following fractions of :22.70 and :45.15. Youcan'tcatchme had a slight edge in upper stretch at the rail but would soon give way as Purely Hot put her head in front of Dene Court at the eighth pole.
Strike the Moon loomed threateningly behind the leaders as the field bunched near mid-stretch but needed racing room. However, McAleney, who angled Part the Seas to the outside of the stalled Strike the Moon, found a path with the closing Mekong Delta to her outside. Part the Seas struck the front impressively and drove clear under good handling.
"She broke a little tardy. I didn't expect to be that far back, so I opted to take an inside trip and everything unfolded perfectly," said McAleney after claiming his record fifth Bessarabian victory. "Today is the first time I sat on this filly, but she was dead ready to win."
Part the Seas, out of the winning Smart Strike mare Go Marching Thru, won for the fifth time in 16 lifetime starts and boosted her earnings to $386,828. In her only previous graded stakes experience, the bay filly ran sixth in the Nassau Stakes (Can-IIT) for her previous connections May 25.
Carrying 119 pounds, Part the Seas paid $30.20, $13.50, and $6.90 as the sixth betting choice. She topped a hefty $756.10 exacta with Mekong Delta. Another 4-year-old daughter of Stormy Atlantic , Mekong Delta was coming off an allowance/optional claiming victory Oct. 27 at Woodbine for trainer Michael Mattine. She paid $34.90 and $14.70 for the place. Strike the Moon, shipping in from Laurel Park for trainer Mike Trombetta, paid $5.10 to show. The $2 trisecta was worth $4,686.
Purely Hot ran fourth, followed by Queen's Award, Acting Naughty, Dene Court, Lemon Splash, Youcan'tcatchme, and Dance to the Moon. Cabo Queen and Runfor Ro were stewards scratches.
Part the Seas wins the Bessarabian Stakes.
