She Be Wild, a daughter of freshman sire Offlee Wild, squeezed along the rail to take the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) over Beautician and favorite Blind Luck (VIDEO).
Nancy Mazzoni’s ex-claimer improved her record to four wins in five starts with the victory. Ridden by Julien Leparoux for the first time, the filly stalked the early pace established by Always a Princess and jockey Garrett Gomez, who had ridden She Be Wild to a second-place finish to Negligee in the Oct. 9 Darley Alcibiades (gr. I) at Keeneland — the only loss in the filly’s brief career.
As Always a Princess led through opening fractions of :23.88 and :47.52, She Be Wild assumed a stalking position and down the backstretch the pair opened up a four-length lead. Rounding the second turn, after six furlongs was completed in a brisk 1:11.61, Connie and Michael briefly took second from She Be Wild as Always a Princess led turning into the stretch.
There was a cavalry charge down the stretch as She Be Wild got through on the inside with Beautician and Blind Luck making up ground to eventually finish second and third, respectively. The final time for 1 1/16 miles was 1:43.80.
In her career debut, She Be Wild romped to a 7 1/ 4 length triumph in a maiden claiming race while racing for a $40,000 tag. Elevated in company, the filly rolled to victory in Arlington Park’s Top Flight Stakes and duplicated that effort in the Arlington Washington Lassie (gr. III) previous to the Alcibiades.
She Be Wild paid $16.80, $9 and $5. Beautician returned $9.40 and $6, while Blind Luck was another head back in third and paid $3 to show as the 7-2 wagering favorite.
"I got a perfect race," Leparoux said. "I was on the rail all the way. I was hoping it would open up at the top, but I didn’t really know. It did open up a little bit, and that was good. That was all I needed."
"When they were loading, she was getting a little excited but she broke good," said trainer Wayne Catalano. "Everything went well. I’m really happy with her. I was a little worried when it looked like she might get trapped but I have a good rider who is patient. I felt good when she poked her head in the hole. She’s not a big filly so it doesn’t take much room.:
Robby Albarado, who was aboard Beautician, said, "I had a bounced-around trip into the first turn. I was shuffled back further than I wanted to be, but she ran really well. At the top of the lane I thought I was in good shape, but (winning jockey) Julien (Leparoux) was on the fence and got there. It would have been nice to have won two in a row."
Bred in Kentucky by M. Mazzoni and N. Mazzoni, She Be Wild is Catalano's second Breeders’ Cup winner. The Chicago-based horseman won the 2006 Juvenile Fillies with Dreaming of Anna.
