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Street Babe has all the cred in Mineshaft

Street Babe went from an unraced maiden to Grade 3 winner in a matter of months (Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography) Making only his third career start, the four-year-old gelding Street Babe (Street Sense) topped a longshot exacta in the $125,000 Mineshaft H. (G3) at Fair Grounds on Saturday. A four-length debut winner at Aqueduct in November and runner-up against allowance foes at Gulfstream on December 31, Street Babe was aggressively spotted here by trainer Michael Dilger, but proved up to the task when he wore down pacesetting Mystery Train (Not for Sale), a 17-1 chance, by three-quarters of a length. Ridden by Kerwin Clark, Street Babe finished up 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:43 2/5 and paid $44.80 at odds of 21-1.

"After his last race we said we would try and go somewhere to try to run him a mile and a sixteenth and figured that the configuration here would suit him better," Dilger said. "The longer stretch helped. He is a late starter but we still don’t know how good he is. We might come back here for the New Orleans H. (G2) or go to the Charles Town Classic (G2) next."

Mystery Train, a multiple Grade 1 winner in Argentina who was unsuccessful in three prior starts in the U.S., set fractions of :23, :46 4/5 and 1:11 4/5 and was 2 1/2 lengths clear of 8-5 favorite Red Rifle (Giant's Causeway), who was making his first start since notching the Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2) on November 29.

Rounding out the order of finish were Cougar Ridge (Johannesburg), Class Leader (Smart Strike), Irish You Well (Broken Vow), Majestic Harbor (Rockport Harbor), Fordubai (E Dubai), Knights Nation (Indygo Shiner), and Nates Mineshaft (Mineshaft). Scratched from the race were Hard Aces (Hard Spun), who was privately sold earlier in the week, and Quadrivium (Henrythenavigator), who raced later in the day in the Fair Grounds H. (G3).

Street Babe races for Antsu Stables and has now earned $118,700. Bred in Kentucky by Heiligbrodt Stable, Street Babe was a $210,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic yearling purchase. He was produced by the multiple stakes winner Richbabe (Richman), making him a half-brother to Grade 3 winner Richwoman (Successful Appeal). This is the extended family of multiple Grade 1 queen Videogenic (Caucasus).

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