George and Lori Hall’s Bold Union made her Delaware Park debut a winning one, taking her five rivals all the way to score in the $150,300 Endine Stakes (gr. III) (VIDEO) by a length Sept. 12.
It was the first graded stakes victory for the 3-year-old daughter of Dixie Union. Kelly Breen trains the bay filly, who set the six-furlong track record at Penn National in the Femme Fatale Stakes two starts back when running 1:08.65.
Under the handling of Jose Velez Jr., Bold Union broke sharply from post 8 in the six-furlong Endine and sprinted to a commanding early lead. The 6-5 favorite went unchallenged through aggressive splits of :21.96 and :45.63 with Casanova Killer, Keep the Peace, and Fearless Leader chasing the frontrunner.
Bold Union had a four-length advantage at the top of the lane and seemed headed for an open-length score, but was called on for her best in deep stretch when Pious Ashley came as a late threat under Rosie Napravnik to make it close at the wire.
The final time on the “sloppy sealed” track was 1:10.41. Pious Ashley was 1 3/4 lengths in front of Fearless Leader for second.
Bold Union entered the Endine off a runner-up effort in the Aug. 29 Victory Ride (gr. III) at Saratoga, her graded stakes debut. In that one, she also led into the stretch but was caught by Sara Louise, who happens to be the last horse to defeat Rachel Alexandra.
Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, and out of the Fortunate Prospect mare Bold World, the winner improved to 5-1-1 from 10 starts. She has now earned $304,800.
The winner paid $4.40, $4.80, and $3.60. The exacta (8-7) returned $18 and the trifecta (8-7-6) was $85.80.
Keep the Peace was fourth, followed by Lady Chace and Casanova Killer.
