With temperature at post time of 21 degrees on a cloudy afternoon, Lizzy Cool and jockey C.C. Lopez seemed in a hurry to get home.They sprang from the gate and set an uncontested pace of :23, :46 3/5 and :59 3/5 in this six-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, and appeared to be an easy winner as a weak run at the leader by 4-5 favorite Harford Ghost came up empty.
Lizzy Cool brought a 5 ½-length lead into the stretech, but Ladyecho rallied under jockey Oliver Castillo, split horses and caught the leader. It was her second victory in as many starts this year and her fourth in eight tries overall. A daughter of 1996 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Alphabet Soup, Ladyecho returned $11.40 for each $2 win ticket. Her winning time was 1:12 3/5 on the fast track.It was the first loss of the season for Lizzy Cool, who had won the Ruthless at Aqueduct in her first start of 2003 on Jan. 5. She 4 1/4 lengths ahead of Reign of Tara, who necked Three Roses for the show.
"She was just flat," jockey Richard Migliore said of Harford Ghost. "She wasn't herself today. I wouldn't have been chasing if she had been herself."(Chart, Equibase)
