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Blind Luck gets up in Alabama
"I thought when Joel (Rosario) made his move coming into the lane he would have a good chance to run them down," trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. "I didn't know until the wire. "I kind of warned Joel that Johnny (Velazquez on Devil May Care) was going to try and open up on him at the head of the lane, so I think he was watching out for that a little bit. We had a perfect position going down the backside, even though they were going slow. The rider did a great job." "I was very, very comfortable where I was," Rosario explained. "Turning for home, I could see two or three lanes of horses in front of me, and I knew that my horse would move well if they started moving. I was expecting a pretty slow pace, but I sat in behind them and watched. I stayed back, and when I got to the quarter-pole I was very confident and I knew I'd get there." Blind Luck rewarded her many backers with payouts of $5.60, $3.80 and $3.60. Havre de Grace, making just her sixth career start, was game in defeat to return $6 and $5.90 as the 7-1 third pick. "Things went fantastic for us, and our filly stepped up to the plate and proved to everyone what she's capable of," trainer Tony Dutrow said of Havre de Grace. "Blind Luck is so, so special." "It was a flawless, beautiful trip," jockey Jeremy Rose spoke about his ride aboard the runner-up. "She gave me everything she had. She laid it on track and just got beat. She ran every step, and she ran down the lane as hard as she could. She's an amazing filly. We just got beat by a filly that's really amazing too." Acting Happy managed to hold Devil May Care to fourth, giving back $9 at 16-1. The exotics totaled $29.60 (exacta) and $147 (trifecta) as Tizahit filled the fifth spot. Connie and Michael rounded out the order under the wire. "She didn't fire," trainer Todd Pletcher said of Devil May Care. "I got her out nearing the quarter-pole, but she didn't come up with anything. Nothing at all. I was very surprised," Velazquez concurred. Blind Luck has now recorded seven stakes triumphs while racking up a 13-9-2-2 career line. Her victories this year now comprise the Kentucky Oaks (G1), Las Virgenes S. (G1), Fantasy S. (G2), Delaware Oaks and Alabama, while as a juvenile she captured the Hollywood Starlet S. (G1) and Oak Leaf S. (G1). She's placed in four other graded events, most notable the Santa Anita Oaks (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), and has accumulated $1,878,712 in lifetime earnings. All of this has taken place over both synthetic tracks and conventional dirt surfaces, on tracks crisscrossing the country from coast to coast. "It seems like we have the best three-year-old filly, right now," a cautious Hollendorfer stated. "I hate to make those kinds of assessments. We'll see what she can do the rest of the year. She did all the work, and I just get to train her. I give Blind Luck all the credit. We've had a very consistent filly all year long. She's real flexible and got the job done today on a slow pace. I'm very proud of her the way she did it. "There's nothing for her on the West coast, so we'll have to travel again. We'd like six or seven weeks between races." Bred by Fairlawn Farm in Kentucky, Blind Luck passed through the sales ring twice, bringing $11,000 as a Fasig-Tipton July yearling and RNAing for $10,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The chestnut lass is the first registered foal out of the winning Lucky One (Best of Luck), who has since produced an unnamed juvenile colt by Orientate and 2010 filly by Successful Appeal. Lucky One is a half-sister to 2002 Swale S. (G3) hero Ethan Man (Glitterman), while her dam, Twilight Spectre (Imp Society), is herself a half-sibling to multiple Grade 2 victor Chas Conerly (Big Burn) and multiple Grade 3-placed Gainzer (Turkoman). Also of note in the family is Burn's Return (Big Burn), queen of the 1979 Monmouth Oaks (G1).
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