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Ventura overturns Venice in Just a Game Juddmonte Farms' homebred VENTURA (Chester House) got first run on the rallying Lady of Venice (Fr) (Loup Solitaire) in Saturday's $400,000 Just a Game S. (G1), and that proved to be decisive as the Bobby Frankel trainee held on by three-quarters of a length at the wire. The dark bay four-year-old blitzed the firm-turf mile in a swift 1:32 3/5 at Belmont Park to earn her third career stakes victory in this newly elevated Grade 1 event. In the early going, Bayou's Lassie (Outflanker) sprinted to the fore through fractions of :23 2/5, :46 2/5 and 1:09 3/5. Ventura took up a close stalking position beneath Garrett Gomez, with Sharp Susan (Touch Gold) and Vacare (Lear Fan) also forwardly placed, while Lady of Venice was rating farther back along the inside. At the top of the stretch, Ventura pounced at just the right time and built up an insurmountable advantage. Lady of Venice made progress late, but she never looked like overhauling the winner. Ventura left the gate as the 9-1 sixth choice and returned $21.20, $7.90 and $5.80. Lady of Venice, the slight favorite at nearly 5-2, yielded $4.30 and $3.30, and capped the $94 exacta. The 44-1 longshot Forever Together (Belong to Me) finished energetically for third, three-quarters of a length adrift of Lady of Venice, to pay $11.20. The trifecta was worth $2,308, and with the 9-1 Bayou's Lassie hanging on for fourth, the 4-1-6-7 superfecta ballooned to $28,908. Sharp Susan, Bit of Whimsy (Distorted Humor), Criminologist (Maria's Mon), Vacare (Lear Fan), Spenditallbaby (Unusual Heat) and Them There Eyes (Holy Bull) rounded out the order of finish. The Kentucky-bred Ventura advanced her scoreline to 12-6-3-1 while almost doubling her earnings to $481,235. First campaigned in England, she broke her maiden in her second start before competing in handicaps with mixed success. Ventura then switched to the Polytrack at Kempton, where she broke through with her first stakes coup in the Hyde S. at the expense of males. That booked her ticket to the United States. A smart allowance winner on Santa Anita's downhill turf in her American bow, she rallied from far back to claim the Madison S. (G2) on Keeneland's Polytrack. Ventura was coming off a third to Bayou's Lassie on rain-soaked ground in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G3). Ventura was produced by the multiple French stakes-placed Estala (GB) (Be My Guest), whose youngest offspring is an unraced juvenile colt named Oba King (Mizzen Mast). Estala is herself a half-sister to English Group 3 warrior Vortex (GB) (Danehill); French stakes victress and classic-placed Erudite (Generous); and French Group 3 queens Prove (Danehill) and Danefair (Danehill), the latter the dam of multiple English Group 3 winner Trade Fair (GB) (Zafonic). Ventura's third dam is Cairn Rouge (Ire) (Pitcairn), heroine of the Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) and Champion S. (Eng-G1) in 1980. Frankel mentioned the July 5 CashCall Mile Invitational (G2) at Hollywood Park as the next possible engagement for Ventura.
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