Moonlady, ridden by Chris DeCarlo, cruises to win the Long Island Handicap at Aqueduct Saturday.
Gary A. Tanaka's Moonlady, making her first North American start, tracked the early leaders before gaining a commanding lead on the second turn to win the $150,000 Long Island Handicap (gr. III) by three lengths over Playact Saturday at Aqueduct as horses who last raced in Europe filled the top two finishing positions. Originally scheduled for the turf at 1 1/2 miles, the race was switched to the muddy main track and run at 1 3/8 miles. Moonlady completed the distance in 2:17.94 under jockey Chris DeCarlo."They told me she was pretty much one-paced," said DeCarlo. "She was moving comfortably down the backstretch and at the three-eighths pole I asked her to run and she took off."La Ville Rouge finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Playact. Early leader Free Vacation faded to finish fourth, followed by betting favorite Emanating, Lisieux Rose, Vicarious Sara, Offtheturf, Mouramara, Peer Review, and Chine.Moonlady returned $27, $12.80 and $6.40 and earned $90,000 for the win. Playact paid $18 and $9.20 and La Ville Rouge was worth $6.20 to show. The winning exacta combination paid $242.50.Moonlady (Platini--Midnight Fever, by Sure Blade) is trained by Harro Remmert and was bred in Germany by Dr. H. Stillger. Earlier this year, the 3-year-old filly won four straight races in Grermany, including the Deutsches St. Leger (Ger-II) and Deutscher Stutenpreis (Ger-III). The win marks the sixth in eight starts for Moonlady, who made her racing debut in April. She raced on a dirt track for the first time Saturday while also making her first start on Lasix. (Chart, Equibase)
