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The chart in the $150,000 Bed o’ Roses Handicap (gr. III) (VIDEO) states the winning margin was a head, but in truth it was a bob of the head.
Second-choice Rightly So (Read the Footnotes—Fit Right In, by Out of Place) ran an extraordinarily gutsy wire-to-wire race and held off a late and furious charge by even-money favorite Qualia (Saarland—Amalake, by Meadowlake). Had the seven-furlong race been a length shorter, Rightly So would have been second.
“She’s unbelievable—there’s no stopping her,” said Elizabeth Currey, assistant to trainer Tony Dutrow. “She’s all racehorse.”
As anticipated, Rightly So was the pacesetter after the first quarter-mile, which the 4-year-old filly has been in seven out of her nine lifetime starts. Jockey Cornelio Velasquez showed a lot of confidence in his mount’s ability to carry her speed by taking her through an opening quarter in a punishing :22.21, followed by an equally blazing :44.99 half-mile.
“She always runs big, but today she wanted to go fast,” said Velasquez. “The track is fast, too, but I had a lot of horse at the top of the stretch and she finished well. The other filly (Qualia) is a nice filly, too.”
At the top of the stretch, Rightly So was still a length and half ahead of Qualia, who tracked her in second throughout the race. Qualia, a 4-year-old filly ridden by Rajiv Maragh, made a serious charge at the leader and caught up with her with a sixteenth of a mile to go. The head bob, however, went to Rightly So in a final time of 1:22.44.
“My horse had no excuse; she had every chance to get by, and she just got nosed out,” said Maragh. “She ran hard to the end. The other filly is more seasoned. My filly made a big step forward, first time in stakes company, and I think she showed she belonged. She has a nice future.”
The winner is owned by Zayat Stables. She was bred in New York by Sequel 2003 and was sold by Sequel Bloodstock for $220,000 through the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co’s February 2-year-olds in training sale to Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables. The Bed o’ Roses was the filly's third stakes victory and her first in a graded stakes. She has now won five races and has lifetime earnings of $330,050.
Finishing third in the race was McVictory, a daughter of Victory Gallop—Emma’s Dilemma, by Capote, who was ridden by Ramon Dominguez and owned by WinStar Farm.
Rightly So paid $9.40, $3.70, and $2.80. Qualia paid $3 and $2.40. McVictory was $3.20 to show. A $2 exacta paid $21.40, while a $2 trifecta netted $87.
