Jody Slew, who trailed the field after six furlongs, streaked down the middle of the racetrack in a determined stretch drive and caught pacesetter Quiet Temper in the final jump to pull an 8-1 upset in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes (gr. III) (VIDEO) Feb. 20 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Ridden by Miguel Mena for trainer Bret Calhoun, Jody Slew broke from the outside in the 1 1/16-mile Silverbulletday and was immediately taken toward the rail by Mena. She trailed the field through the backstretch while Quiet Temper set the pace under Robby Albarado. Winner of the Delta Princess (gr. III) in her juvenile finale, Quiet Temper set honest fractions of :23.91, :47.50, and 1:11.75 while Age of Humor tracked in second.
Odds-on choice Devil May Care, winner of the Frizette (gr. I) last fall at Belmont, had trouble from the outset, as she was fractious in the starting gate, had to race four-wide along the first turn, and was rushed up into third approaching the far turn. The Todd Pletcher trainee wound up finishing fifth in a field of six.
Quiet Temper carried a commanding three-length advantage into the stretch and seemed in control for much if the final furlong, but Jody Slew had moved four-wide around the final turn and was charging gamely from the outside. It wasn’t until the final stride that she caught Quiet Temper by a nose.
The final time over a fast track was 1:45.80. Quiet Temper, owned by Mark Stanley and trained by Dale Romans, was a full 10 lengths ahead of third-place Age of Humor.
“I knew the pace was fast but at the quarter-pole I was twenty lengths behind," Mena said. "I just kept driving and I really didn’t think I had won at the end. I gave myself, oh, a 20% (chance of winning the photo). I didn’t know if I got there; I was just waiting. I couldn’t believe it.”
A 3-year-old daughter of Slew City Slew, Jody Slew is owned by Martin Racing Stable and Dan Morgan. She broke her maiden at Ellis Park last summer, then followed with an allowance victory at River Downs the following month. She was stakes placed twice later in her juvenile season before opening her 3-year-old season with a win in the Tiffany Lass Stakes at Fair Grounds on Jan. 23.
Jody Slew was bred in Kentucky by Brandywine Farm and is out of the Housebuster mare Trustbuster. The bay filly has now earned $185,179 from nine starts.
"I was really surprised my filly was that far back; as sharp as she’s been in the mornings she’s been just the opposite in the afternoons," Calhoun said. "I was afraid she might be more keen today but it ended up working out great. She didn’t really get into the race until she got that horse in her sights. She was just kind of wide out there down the lane—running, but not like she was bearing down—but she got that horse in her sights and she found another gear.”
The winner paid $18, $7, and $4. The exacta (7-1) returned $76.40 and the trifecta (7-1-3) was $427.80.
Of Devil May Care's poor effort Castellano said: “I expected her to run better today. She might have been a little bit nervous coming off the layoff. I don’t think she really liked the track the way she handled it today. We were in a perfect spot, but turning for home, when I asked her, she didn’t respond. I worked her at Palm Meadows and I really liked the way she worked that day.”
