Sherine, the longest price on the board at 13-1 in a five-horse field, took them all on a merry chase in the $147,000 Comely Stakes (gr. III) (VIDEO) at Aqueduct April 12. Ridden by Alan Garcia, the 3-year-old filly covered the one mile on dirt in 1:37.25.
By Precise End, out of the Red Ransom mare Willa Dear, Sherine defeated Ready for Fortune by two lengths. It was another neck back to Elusive Lady in third. Zaftig, the 7-5 favorite, finished fourth. Lady Chance trailed. Love Co was scratched.
Trained by Tony Dutrow, Sherine races for Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables and was an $85,000 purchase out of last year's Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s select sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Breaking from post two, Sherine took it to the Comely cast early, battling along the rail with Lady Chace on the front end through splits of :22.93 for the opening quarter-mile and :46.41 for the half-mile. She pulled away from Lady Chace from there, having a 1 ½-length lead after six furlongs in 1:11.20. Dennis Narlinger’s Ready for Fortune rallied from last to get the second spot while coming up the rail, catching Gold Mark Farm’s Elusive Lady on the wire.
“ I knew I had horse at the three-eighths pole, but she was still kind of playing around,” said Garcia. “She gave me what she needed to in the stretch.”
Sherine was bred in New York by Sez Who Thoroughbreds. She has now won four of eight career starts and has a pair of third-place finishes including a placing in the With Anticipation Stakes on the Saratoga turf last summer. She came into the Comely off a sixth-place finish as the even-money favorite behind Ready for Fortune Feb. 17 in the six-furlong Dearly Precious Stakes. Prior to that, she had dusted state-bred rivals by 3 ¾ lengths in the 1 1/16-mile East View Stakes at the Big A Dec. 2.
“I think she’s real good on dirt and turf,” Garcia said. “It doesn’t matter what she’s on – she’s just a fast filly. Things didn’t go right last time and Tony (Dutrow, trainer) told me she would be a better horse today.”
“I was as surprised with her effort today as I was with her effort in the Dearly Precious,” said Dutrow via telephone. “ I thought she was training great going into the Dearly Precious and I thought she looked good coming out of it. I just kind of forgot about that race and freshened her up. She really ran a big race today. I knew she was a talented filly and capable of running that way.I was just hoping she was good enough at the top of the stretch. This is a big win for me. With her speed and versatility there are a lot of options for her.”
Sherine paid $28.60, $9.40, and $3.40. Ready for Fortune returned $5.90 and $2.90, and Elusive Lady paid $2.90. The 2-6 exacta paid $99.50
(Chart, Equibase)