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Fiftyshadesofhay scores in Black-Eyed Susan Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman's Fiftyshadesofhay came with a game rally in the stretch of Friday's Grade 2, $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico to just catch Marathon Lady strides before the wire and give jockey Joel Rosario a winning start to Preakness weekend. The jockey is on hot streak right now, capturing his first Kentucky Derby two weeks ago aboard Orb, and gained some valuable insight into the main track at Pimlico ahead of Saturday's ride aboard that colt in the 138th Preakness Stakes. Rosario was focused on Fiftyshadesofhay on Friday, though, settling the bay miss wide near the rear of the field as stakes debuter Maracuya tried to lead all the way home. That chestnut filly set splits of :23 4/5, :48 3/5 and 1:13 1/5 in an attempt to move her record to a perfect three-for-three. Toasting and Marathon Lady were keeping in close attendance to Maracuya's outside, while Petit Trianon saved ground down to her inside. Toasting and Marathon Lady drew even with Maracuya rounding the final turn, but Marathon Lady was going best of all and began pulling off. For a brief moment the Steve Hobby trainee appeared a clear winner, but Rosario was just beginning his move on Fiftyshadesofhay. The sophomore daughter of Pulpit slowly closed the distance between herself and Marathon Lady, just getting past her rival in time to stop the clock for nine furlongs on the fast dirt in 1:52 3/5. "It was kind of a perfect trip, but she was kind of slowing a little bit from the dirt in her face," Rosario explained. "I got her on the outside and she looked like she was really comfortable. Right when I went past the three-eighths pole before turning for home, she kind of got away from me a little bit. I was kind of worried about it, but she was able to get it back together and she kept going. "(Trainer) Bob (Baffert) told me, 'She's just one-paced, so keep her going.' So I think it was a little bit better to keep her on the outside. When I passed the sixteenth-pole I could see that the horse in front of me was backing up a little. That's when I felt better." "I wasn't sure turning for home because I told Rosario that she usually runs 1-2-3, but ride her the way you feel you should ride her. Rosario sort of did his own thing today, but it was the right thing," Baffert said. Fiftyshadesofhay was sent off the 2-1 second choice and returned $6.60, $3.80 and $3. Marathon Lady, a neck behind the winner on the wire, was best of the rest while 4 1/2 lengths ahead of Toasting in third. Maracuya faded to fourth, while Petit Trianon filled out the fifth spot. "She ran huge. She ran her tail off. She had a great trip. I don't know what we could have done any different," Hobby praised Marathon Lady. Emollient, favored at 4-5 off a nine-length romp in the Ashland on April 6, seemed to lose all chance when stumbling out of the gate. She finished sixth and long shot Lady Banks trailed in last. Manuka Honey and Walkwithapurpose were both withdrawn. "She stumbled out of the gate really bad, and she caught her leg. It was pretty much over for us after that," jockey Mike Smith clarified about Emollient. "She had a pretty good stumble leaving the gate, which didn't help," agreed Emollient's trainer, Bill Mott. "Obviously, she got back a little further and had to overcome that. It looked like to me she might have been fighting that racetrack. The main track may not be her best surface, so you might see her try the turf course next time." Fiftyshadesofhay finally got back to the winner's circle in this spot while getting away from juvenile filly champion and Kentucky Oaks second Beholder, who easily held the Black-Eyed Susan winner to second in the Las Virgenes and third in the Santa Anita Oaks in their past two meetings. Prior to that, Fiftyshadesofhay was a 5 3/4-length victress of the Santa Ysabel following an eighth-placing in her first try on turf, and against stakes company, in the Blue Norther. The Blue Norther was also Fiftyshadesofhay's sophomore bow, as she closed out 2012 by breaking her maiden at Hollywood Park on November 22. With Friday's score, the bay filly has now banked $492,490 to go along with her 9-3-2-2 career mark. Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Fiftyshadesofhay sold for $175,000 as a Keeneland September yearling and has followed in the hoofsteps of her dam, the Real Quiet mare Quiet Kim, who placed in the 2006 edition of the Santa Anita Oaks. Fiftyshadesofhay counts as her fourth dam the stakes-winning It's Freezing mare Ice Fantasy. That one would produce dual Grade 3 victor Fighting Fantasy as well as the dams of Grade 1 winner Snow Ridge and classic-placed Grade 2 scorer Sweetnorthernsaint. Afleet Express, hero of the 2010 Travers, is also descended from Ice Fantasy. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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