Augustin Stable’s Informed Decision made it four stakes victories in a row when she came from off the pace to win the $335,400 Humana Distaff Stakes (gr. I) (VIDEO) on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 2 at Churchill Downs.
The 4-year-old daughter of 2001 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Monarchos—Palangana, by His Majesty, has not lost a race since last August at Saratoga, taking a stakes at Belmont Park in September, then winning the Raven Run Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland in October before returning to Lexington in April to score in the Madison Stakes (gr. I).
On a sloppy track, Dubai Majesty made all the early running in the Humana Distaff, charging out from inside to lead Bear Now and Secret Gypsy up the backstretch of the seven-furlong test. Dubai Majesty increased her lead to two lengths after a quarter mile in :22.38 and a half in :44.86.
She led by two lengths entering the bend, and seemed to kick away from her field. But midway through the stretch, she was getting out and then lugging in, as Informed Decision rallied from mid-pack under Julien Leparoux to get the lead less than 50 yards from the wire. Informed Decision was three-quarters of a length clear at the wire in 1:23.69.
"They were ahead and they kind of had the jump on me," Leparoux said in reference to the pacesetting Dubai Majesty. "I almost had to stop (Informed Decision) and I thought there is no way she’s going to get back in there. She actually did. At the eighth pole she really kicked in for me. She’s amazing.”
Longshot Temple Street, ridden by Jon Court, was also running on from behind and garnered second place by a half-length, with Modification and Kent Desormeaux dead-heating with the tiring Dubai Majesty, ridden by Ramon Dominguez, for third. Favorite Game Face, sent off at 2-1, never threatened while finishing sixth.
Informed Decision, second choice at 3-1, returned $8.40, $4.80 and $3.40 for the win. Jonathan Sheppard is the winning conditioner.
"It didn’t look like she was running very well on the turn," Sheppard said. "I started to lose confidence in her, but once (Leparoux) eased out and finally got in the clear, she started to run. I started to feel better about our chances.
“I was (concerned about the wet track) because she had never run on it. But she’s such an aggressive, forward acting filly, I thought she might handle it. If we were going to find out if she could handle it, this was a good race to find out. I wouldn’t have run her if the track wasn’t safe."
Informed Decision was bred in Kentucky by C. Kidder and N. Cole. She is now a sterling seven-for-nine lifetime and has banked $721,947 for her career. The winning purse for the Humana Distaff was $199,630.
It was the gray/roan’s first visit to Churchill Downs, and her first trip over an off track. The surface was rated sloppy for the race.
Temple Street, the longest price in the field at 32-1, returned $24 and $10 in his graded stakes debut for trainer Brad Cox. Dubai Majesty paid $4.20; Modification paid $5.80.