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Hilda's Passion easily wins Inside Information in track-record time
"I know she has a lot of speed. What I really liked about today was how she went to the lead but she was so relaxed," said Castellano, who opened a two-win margin over Velazquez in the jockeys’ standing with his third winner of the afternoon. "She was really comfortable and when I asked her, it was amazing. She just took off. I knew she was going to run fast, I didn't know she was going to break the track record." The four-year-old filly has now four of her last five starts, all stakes races, and narrowly dropped her lone setback, a neck second in the Sugar Swirl S. (G3) following a troubled trip in her 2011 opener. Winner of the off-the-turf Bennington S. at Saratoga and the Raven Run S. (G2) on Keeneland's Polytrack in her final two outings last year, Hilda's Passion entered the Inside Information off a 2 1/2-length thrashing in the February 13 Hurricane Bertie S. (G3). The talented female sprinter has now earned $430,256 from a 10-6-1-0 scorecard. Heavily favored at 3-5 among six rivals, Hilda's Passion paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10. Amen Hallelujah (Montbrook) tried vainly to challenge the pacesetter approaching the stretch drive, but she never offered a serious threat while maintaining a firm grasp of second. It was another 2 1/2 lengths back to Stephanie Got Even (Stephen Got Even) in third, and Ms Vanenzza (Successful Appeal), Milwaukee Appeal (Milwaukee Brew) and Beautician (Dehere) rounded out the order of finish. Choragus (Harlan's Holiday) was withdrawn. "She travels so smoothly that you don't realize how fast she's going, but when I saw the 44 (half-mile), and Amen Hallelujah inch up to her, I thought she might have a real race on her hands until she drew away in the stretch," Pletcher said. Bred by Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Kuster in Kentucky, Hilda's Passion RNA'd for $4,200 as a Keeneland November weanling. She is out of the winning El Prado (Ire) mare Executricker, whose latest foals are an unraced sophomore colt named Mannak (Canadian Frontier), a full brother to Hilda's Passion, and a juvenile colt named Edge of the World (Quest). Further back, this is the family of English highweight Twice Over (GB) (Observatory), who became a two-time winner of the Champion S. (Eng-G1) last time out on October 16; Group 1 queen Passage of Time (GB) (Dansili [GB]); champion Banshee Breeze (Unbridled); and Hall of Famer and noted sire Damascus (Sword Dancer). Pletcher said Hilda's Passion will be pointed to the May 7 Humana Distaff (G1) at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard. "It's also at seven-eighths," Pletcher said. "She's trained well over that track in the past."
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