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Cherokee Queen makes ascension in Suwannee River

Cherokee Queen enjoyed a textbook stalk-and-pounce trip (Guy Gustafson/Horsephotos.com) Unplaced in seven prior attempts in graded stakes company, Farnsworth Stables' CHEROKEE QUEEN's (Cherokee Run) persistence finally paid off in Saturday's $150,000 Suwannee River S. (G3) at Gulfstream Park when the six-year-old mare drove home a two-length winner under Alex Solis. Tracking in third behind long-time leader Persuading (Broken Vow) as that rival set splits of :23 4/5, :47 2/5 and 1:10 3/5, Cherokee Queen moved up to engage that filly at the top of the stretch and drew off to complete nine furlongs on a firm turf in 1:46 3/5. The 9-2 third choice, she paid $11, $5.40 and $4. "(Trainer) Marty (Wolfson) told me to try to keep her a little closer to the pace today," Solis said. "I was saving all the ground and just tried to be patient. Around the quarter pole I asked her to go and she did her thing." Never Retreat (Smart Strike), the 3-1 second choice, rallied from near the back to nab second by a half-length over Persuading, who had two lengths up on 5-2 favorite It's Tea Time (Dynaformer).

The order of finish was rounded out by Musical Rain (Ire) (Val Royal [Fr]), Miss Blakely (Smart Strike), Deputy Darling (Service Stripe), Project Rose (Not for Love), Trix in the City (Friends Lake) and Miss World (Bernstein). Toocleverforwords (Arch) was entered for the main track only and was scratched.

Winner of the Possibly Perfect S. early in her career for trainer Graham Motion, Cherokee Queen entered the Marty Wolfson shedrow in the spring of 2010. She immediately paid dividends with a score in the Hollywood Wildcat S. at Calder and later added the Dr. James Penny Memorial H. at Philadelphia Park. However, she endured poor luck in a series of graded attempts, her best finishes being fourth-place ones in the Just a Game S. (G1) and Marshua's River S. (G3) last time. With this initial graded triumph, her record now stands at 27-8-6-1, $477,812.

Bred in Kentucky by J. Mack Robinson, Cherokee Queen was produced by the winning Virginia Bee (Virginia Rapids), who is also the dam of a yearling colt by Bandini. This female family has yielded the likes of Grade 1 winners Videogenic (Caucasus) and Valid Video (Valid Wager), as well as Grade 2 winner Ziggy's Boy (Danzig).

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