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Indian Vale blossoms in Fleur de Lis Eugene Melnyk's homebred INDIAN VALE (A.P. Indy) moved to the fore heading into the stretch and powered home a determined 1 1/2-length victress of the $327,600 Fleur de Lis H. (G2) at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez, the five-year-old was always prominent as she tracked in second behind Fiery Pursuit (Carson City) through splits of :23 4/5 and :47 1/5 for the opening half-mile. From there Indian Vale put away the pacesetter and established command of the race, reaching six furlongs in 1:11 and the mile in 1:36 1/5, prior to completing the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49. Sent off as the 5-2 third choice, the winner was worth $7.20, $4.20 and $3.20 while topping the $27.20 exacta, $174 trifecta and $318.80 superfecta (6-4-3-8). "She was much better this time out," Velazquez explained. "Last time she was in a sloppy track and she was bottled the whole race. This time, I helped her a bit with positioning so she could feel the other horses outside of her, and she went right on. She's good at the distance, but the track helped her more than anything else." Asi Siempre (El Prado [Ire]) closed well from off the pace but could not catch the leader late, settling for the place as the nearly 5-2 second choice. The runner-up paid $3.40 and $2.80. Kettleoneup (Victory Gallop) rallied well from last to be a clear third, good for $4.40 at 10-1. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back to 2-1 favorite Ermine (Exchange Rate), who was followed by Rolling Sea (Sefapiano) and Fiery Pursuit. Baghdaria (Royal Academy) was pulled up in the stretch and vanned off. Leah's Secret (Tiger Ridge) was withdrawn. Indian Vale earned her fourth career graded win in here, following tallies in the Falls City H. (G2), Next Move H. (G3) and Turnback the Alarm H. (G3). She improved her mark to 10-7-0-0, $648,601. Bred in Ontario, Canada, Indian Vale is the first registered foal out of Grade 1 stakes heroine Marley Vale (Forty Niner). She is a full sister to the unraced two-year-old colt Clifton Hall and a half-sister to an unnamed yearling filly by Storm Cat. The chestnut also has an unnamed 2007 full sister. Pletcher said that Indian Vale could show up next in either the July 28 Go for Wand H. (G1) at Saratoga or the Delaware H. (G2) on July 15 at Delaware Park.
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