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Pomeroys Pistol shoots clear in Sugar Swirl

Pomeroys Pistol was the best on paper, and on the track (Adam Coglianese Photography) Pomeroys Pistol appeared to have the measure of her rivals going into Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Sugar Swirl Stakes, and the 4-5 favorite duly delivered with a textbook stalk-and-pounce trip at Gulfstream Park. Trainer Amy Tarrant's homebred was coming full circle, in a sense. Pomeroys Pistol opened her three-year-old campaign here last January, serving notice as one to watch in the sprinting ranks, and after fulfilling that promise, she returned to the same venue to cap her productive season. Most recently fourth in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Pomeroys Pistol was dropping into Grade 3 company for the first time since this spring. The odds-on favorite broke from the rail, and jockey Javier Castellano tucked her into a stalking spot, just in the slipstream of the front-running Third Chance through an opening quarter in :22 1/5.

Pica Slew, who was making her first start in nearly 11 months, prompted in second before taking over on the far turn. After a blistering half-mile split in :44 4/5, Pica Slew began to pull away at the top of the stretch, and she was still clear when reaching five furlongs in :56 2/5. For a moment, the 16-1 longshot hinted that she might hand trainer Brian Lynch a poignant win in her debut for the barn. Lynch, when serving as an assistant for late Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, had supervised the training of Sugar Swirl herself.

But Pomeroys Pistol soon shot down the sentimental story involving the race's namesake. Angled to the outside down the lane, she reeled in Pica Slew in deep stretch and drew off by two lengths. Pomeroys Pistol completed six furlongs on the fast track in 1:09 1/5 and returned $3.60, $2.80 and $2.20.

"I had a beautiful trip, a dream trip," Castellano recapped. "She is a really nice filly, really straightforward. I love her. You can do whatever you want with her. I saved all the ground I could and when I put her outside, she took off. She was much the best in the field."

Pica Slew, in a fine effort in her comeback from surgery for a splint injury, salvaged second by a nose from the fast-finishing Strike the Moon. Catch a Thief checked in fourth, followed by Indulgence, Third Chance, Moontune Missy and Roman Treasure.

Pomeroys Pistol is greeted by owner/trainer Amy Tarrant, who also bred the consistent filly (Adam Coglianese Photography) Pomeroys Pistol now sports a 13-5-3-2 mark and $570,178 in earnings, reflecting four stakes victories and four stakes placings. The bay opened 2011 with three straight appearances in graded stakes at Gulfstream. Runner-up in the Grade 3 Old Hat in her sophomore bow, she next upset Dancinginherdreams in the Grade 2 Forward Gal, and finished a distant third when trying a mile in the Grade 2 Davona Dale. Pomeroys Pistol then stuck to sprints. After a rare sixth in the Grade 3 Eight Belles on Kentucky Oaks Day at Churchill, Pomeroys Pistol rebounded by crushing the Just Smashing at Monmouth. She garnered runner-up honors in both the Grade 1 Prioress and the Grade 1 Test, and demolished older distaffers in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap. Pomeroys Pistol was compromised by post 12 in the Breeders' Cup, where she bobbled at the start, chased the pace, and battled for the lead before tiring to fourth. Tarrant was concerned that the rail draw might pose a problem Saturday.

"My only concern going into the race was the 1 post," the owner/breeder/trainer said. "I wasn't worried that she's only had one workout since the Breeders' Cup. I know her and what she needs. I was confident going into the race.

"She had three quality weeks turned out on the farm, but pretty much kept herself fit running around her paddock. I don't like to grind on them before they run. The time frame, five weeks since the Breeders' Cup, was perfect. Javier knows her now and rides her with confidence."

Pomeroys Pistol will be seen again during the Gulfstream meet.

"We'll look at the (Grade 3) Hurricane Bertie (on February 19) and the Grade 2 after that (the Inside Information on March 17)," Tarrant said. "She'll run in one or maybe both."

Bred by Tarrant's Hardacre Farm in Florida, the daughter of Pomeroy RNA'd for $22,000 as an OBS August yearling. She is out of the unraced Point Given mare Prettyatthetable, who is also the dam of the stakes-placed D'Cats Meow. Pomeroys Pistol's second dam is multiple Grade 2-placed stakes heroine Swearingen, and she hails from the family of Grade 1-winning sire Harlan and Grade 1 victress Things Change.

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