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Indian Flare refuses to yield in Vagrancy Juddmonte Farms' homebred INDIAN FLARE (Cherokee Run) took the lead turning for home along the rail, was headed inside the final furlong by the closing Oprah Winney (Royal Academy), and fought back gamely in the latter stages to post a half-length tally in the $150,000 Vagrancy H. (G2) at Belmont Park on Sunday. The lukewarm 5-2 choice completed the 6 1/2-furlong test in 1:16 2/5 for trainer Bobby Frankel and rider Javier Castellano, paying $7.30, $4 and $2.50. Any Limit (Limit Out) sped to the front early and led the field through splits of :22 and :44 2/5 for the opening half-mile, while the winner was just biding her time in a ground-saving third. Leaving the far turn, Indian Flare took advantage of an opening on the rail and soon led, appearing to be on her way to a facile score, but the fast-closing Oprah Winney emerged late, setting up the exciting final sixteenth. Oprah Winney had the momentum and a brief lead late, but the well-bred winner was not to be denied under confident handling. "Around the three-eighths pole, I had so much horse," Castellano said. "(Eibar) Coa (aboard Any Limit) opened the rail a little bit. At the quarter-pole, I said 'Now I've got to take a shot.' It worked out perfect. At the sixteenth-pole, I thought I was going to get beat. She ran great because on that move, she gave me everything." "I thought she was going to get beat today, to be honest with you," Frankel said via telephone from California. "It looked like (Richard) Dutrow's horse (Oprah Winney) was going to run by her, but she showed a lot of courage." The runner-up paid $3.80 and $2.40 as the nearly 3-1 second choice, completing the $25.60 exacta in the process. Any Limit faded to third, 6 3/4 lengths shy of the place, and gave back $2.60 as the 3-1 third choice. The trifecta paid $70.50. Nothing But Fun (Dixie Union) was next and followed by Magnolia Jackson (Cape Canaveral) and Mary Delaney (Hennessy). Indian Flare upped her career mark to 17-7-4-3 with earnings of $408,236. The five-year-old bay, who earned her first graded win in this one, owns tallies in the Flower Girl H. and Kalookan Queen H., as well as placings in the Chilukki S. (G2) and Las Cienegas H. (G3). Bred in the Bluegrass State, Indian Flare hails from the multiple Grade 2-winning True Flare (Capote), who is also the dam of multiple French Group 3 winner Art Master (Royal Academy) and 2006 Malibu S. (G1) hero Latent Heat (Maria's Mon), a winner of the San Carlos H. (G2) three prior. The 14-year-old mare is a full sister to German Group 3 hero Capital Secret and a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Apple of Kent (Kris S.), Group/Grade 3 victor War Zone (Danzig), French Group 3 scorer Set Alight (Hennessy) and multiple French stakes queen and Group 3-placed River Flare (Riverman). Indian Flare has an unraced juvenile half-brother named Eagle Strike (Storm Cat), an unnamed yearling half-brother by Empire Maker and an unnamed 2007 half-brother by Giant's Causeway. Indian Flare's third dam, Flare Pass (Buckpasser), is a full sister to Grade 2 winner and influential sire Buckaroo, as well as a half-sister to stakes victor Parade Marshal (Caro [Ire]), a successful sire in Argentina. This is also the family of noted stallion Stop the Music and multiple Grade 1 hero Hatchet Man. Frankel mentioned the August 26 Ballerina Breeders' Cup S. (G1) at Saratoga as a next possible objective.
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