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Octave has captured two legs of the
Triple Tiara
(Dianne Boothe/Horsephotos.com) |
Starlight Stable and Frank Lucarelli's OCTAVE (Unbridled's Song) headed
pacesetter Folk (Quiet American) in early stretch and ground out a half-length
win in the $300,000
Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Belmont Park on
Saturday. The three-year-old miss broke alertly and tracked Folk for the opening
mile of the race, which was reached in 1:36 2/5. The pair hooked up at the head
of the lane with Octave doing slightly better, inching away from her rival in
the final furlong before holding off a belated push by Lear's Princess (Lear
Fan). The winner, trained by Todd Pletcher and piloted by John Velazquez, finished off the 1 1/4 miles over "Big Sandy" in 2:02 and gave back $3, $2.10
and $2.10 at 1-2.
"She runs her heart out each time," Velazquez stated. "When she gets
to the front, she tends to wait on other horses. But I know she won't
let them by."
Lear's Princess tracked on the outside in fourth until the stretch and did
well in her fourth career start, finishing three parts clear of the show. The
4-1 third choice paid $3.30 and $2.50 while completing the $8.50 exacta. Folk,
the 3-1 second choice, stayed on well for third, giving back $2.50 and rounding out the paltry $14.60
trifecta. Humble Janet (Humble Eleven) was another 3 1/4 lengths back and
followed by Wow Me Free (Menifee), Coy Coyote (Honour and Glory) and Rosie's
Attitude (Aptitude).
Octave adds a third stakes score with this one, having captured the Mother
Goose S. (G1) last out and last year's Adirondack Breeders' Cup S. (G2). She
also ran second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Matron S. (G1) and
Astoria S. as a two-year-old, and continued that trend when making her sophomore
bow in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) in March. Runner-up finishes in the Ashland S.
(G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1) followed, and the gray filly continued
the trend of Kentucky Oaks runners exiting that race to win next out when taking
the Mother Goose. Octave
moved her record to 10-4-6-0, having now earned $1,227,934.
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