Leinan sat off the swift early pace of heavily favored Mechaya before launching a smart rally for jockey Luis Contreras to take the $155,236 Glorious Song Stakes Nov. 11 at Woodbine. (VIDEO)
Trained by Josie Carroll for owners James and Alice Sapara, Leinan scored at odds of 7-1 as a $3,000 supplemental entrant in the juvenile filly event. The final time for seven furlongs on Polytrack was 1:23.73.
Leinan, making her stakes debut, relaxed in the early running as Southern California shipper Mechaya, came out running as the 3-5 favorite and opened up a six-length lead down the backstretch.
Following splits of :22.13 and :45 flat to the half-mile, Mechaya came back to the field, where she was challenged by Goldstryke Glory, who took the lead from Mechaya in the stretch. After settling into fourth, Leinan advanced comfortably through the turn and finished well from the sixteenth pole to edge Goldstryke Glory by one length.
Goldstryke Glory, ridden by Tyler Pizarro, stayed on for second, 2 1/2 lengths in front of Mechaya and Patrick Husbands. Husbands had ridden Leinan in her two most recent races, both seconds in allowance company. Leinan won her debut going 4 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland by five lengths April 27.
Contreras, riding the Kentucky-bred daughter of Ready's Image —Golden Mirage, by Green Desert, for the first time, expected his filly to put in a good effort.
"I was confident in my filly," said Contreras. "I know she has a lot of speed, but in the race (Mechaya) showed a lot of speed. (Leinan) relaxed nicely for me in the beginning. I kicked and fired at the end."
Carroll, who captured the Autumn Stakes (Can-II) with James Street a day before the Glorious Song, was also pleased with the relaxed performance of the bay filly.
"I expected her to jump out of there," said Carroll. "I asked Luis to ride her aggressively to the finish as she gets a little overconfident to slacking a little bit. When the speed went out there and she was relaxed, I was happy to see the way she was running. She was very comfortable with them and when he asked her to take off, she took off."
Leinan, an $80,000 Fasig-Tipton July 2011 yearling sale in Kentucky, banked $89,847 in victory. Bred in Kentucky by Robert B. Trussell Jr., John T. L. Jones III, and Empire Partners, she improved her record to two wins and two seconds from four starts.
Racing without Salix, one of two horses in the six-horse field without the medication, Leinan paid $16, $6.10, and $2.70.Goldstryke Glory, the other racing without Salix, paid $3.80 and $2.30. The top finishers combined for a $56 exacta. Mechaya paid $2.10 to show. Sweet Redemption finished fourth, followed by Shenandoah Lady and Lady Bear.
Leinan wins the Glorious Song Stakes.
Michael Burns