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Never Retreat is the First Lady of Keeneland
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| Never Retreat joined Intercontinental as the only horses to complete the Jenny Wiley/First Lady sweep in the same year
(Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos) |
Team Block's Never Retreat, who captured the Grade 2 Jenny Wiley during
Keeneland's spring meet, remained perfect at the picturesque course when rolling
in stakes-record time in Saturday's Grade 1, $350,000
First Lady. Better than
ever at the age of six, the Chris Block mare collected her first Grade 1 title
while handing jockey Julien Leparoux his fourth win on the day. Never Retreat
clocked the firm-turf mile in 1:34.08, edging the old stakes mark of 1:34.14
established by Gorella in 2006.
Never Retreat, the 4-1 second choice, broke from the far outside in post 12.
Leparoux settled her in a stalking fourth as the exuberant front runner Wasted
Tears rattled off fractions of :23 2/5, :46 4/5 and 1:10 3/5. Wasted Tears kept
on doggedly into the stretch, hoping to earn her own Grade 1 breakthrough. But
by the time she reached seven furlongs in 1:22 1/5, she began to look
vulnerable.
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Although the 7-2 favorite Daveron briefly threatened on the inside, it was
Never Retreat who stormed to the front on the outside. Surging past inside the
final furlong, Never Retreat pulled away by 1 1/2 lengths and rewarded her
loyalists with $10, $5.20 and $3.60.
"We were on the outside, so we were hoping to drop her in a little bit on the
first turn," Leparoux said. "She put me in the race good, just nice and easy,
and she finished good."
Irish shipper Together, who got off to a slow start, finished well to nip
Daveron by a nose for runner-up honors. Wasted Tears checked in another
half-length astern in fourth, followed by Bay to Bay, Gypsy's Warning, C. S.
Silk, Cherokee Queen, Eclair de Lune, Absinthe Minded, Theyskens' Theory and
Category Seven. The also-eligibles Snow Top Mountain and Tapitsfly didn't draw
in to the field.
Daveron's connections believed that the inside trip didn't turn out to her
advantage.
"(Jockey) Eddie (Castro) said she was a little bit intimidated," trainer
Graham Motion said. "She's not used to being down on the inside in between
horses like that. She's a little happier when she's clear, so he said it was a
little bit hard to get her going. Then when it cleared up she came running, but
by then it was a little bit too late."
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| Never Retreat has now won eight stakes and placed in a dozen others
(Keeneland Photo) |
Never Retreat, who has won or placed in a total of 20 stakes, boosted her
bankroll to $1,268,769 from her 31-11-7-6 line. In addition to her Keeneland
successes this year, she has prospered at Woodbine. Never Retreat entered the
Sovereign Award picture with wins in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly in July and the
Grade 2 Canadian last time out on September 18, and she also finished second in
the Grade 2 Nassau back in June. She spent last winter at Gulfstream Park, where
she placed in the Grade 3 Marshua's River and the Grade 3 Suwannee River before
breaking through in the Grade 3 Honey Fox, the first hint to her banner year.
Never Retreat started her career on dirt. For original trainer Kiaran
McLaughlin, she was promoted to second in the 2008 Grade 1 Mother Goose and
placed third in the Susan's Girl. Switched to Seth Benzel that fall, the dark
bay captured the Rare Blend in her turf debut and checked in third in the Quick
Mischief.
Since joining the Block franchise in 2009, Never Retreat has spent most of
her time on turf. She placed in both the Blushing K.D. and Virginia H. Tarra
Illinois Owners Stakes that year, but began to improve markedly in 2010. She
crossed the wire first in the Furl Sail, only to be demoted to second for
causing interference. Never Retreat then lost on the head-bob in the Marie G.
Krantz Memorial, and concluded her stint at Fair Grounds with a third in the
Bayou. She was in tip-top form in the latter part of the year, landing the Lady
Canterbury and Kentucky Cup Ladies Turf and missing by a nose in the River
Memories.
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Bred by Gerry O'Meara and Stanley Inman in Kentucky, Never Retreat was sold
for $410,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling. The daughter of Smart
Strike is out of the stakes-placed Steady Growth mare Lisieux and comes from the
immediate family of noted sire Distorted Humor.
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