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Gotta Have Her repeats in Palomar
Traveling supremely well on the far turn, Gotta Have Her moved up on her own volition and easily put her head in front. You Lift Me Up was giving way, but Go Forth North was staying on gamely toward the inside. While Gotta Have Her inched a half-length ahead in midstretch, Go Forth North refused to wilt and began to come back on the fans' choice. As the only three-year-old in the field, Go Forth North carried a feathery 110 pounds, compared to the 121 pounds toted by the highweight Gotta Have Her. The margin was diminishing at the wire, but Gotta Have Her was doing enough to return $4, $3 and $2.10. "I was worried about hitting the front too soon," Smith said. "You don't want to do that with her. She'll pull herself up. I was worried about Hollendorfer's other mare (Lilly Fa Pootz) coming and getting us. But it worked out fine. I like riding ones like her (Gotta Have Her). This is my kind of race." "It was a weird race," Sahadi recapped. "I was concerned when I saw the 26 (seconds for first quarter). I knew they were going slow and she doesn't have a real huge turn of foot. As long as she can just gallop along, she's fine. Mike apologized for getting to the front too soon. I'm really proud of her. She's really special." Martin Garcia, the rider of Go Forth North, complimented the winner. "That might have looked close at the end, but it really wasn't," Garcia said. "She (Gotta Have Her) was playing with me. My filly would move up to her and she'd move away. Then I'd get close again and she wouldn't let us get by. The winner's just too good." Go Forth North outran her odds as the 11-1 longest shot on the board, paying $5.80 and $2.60. Lilly Fa Pootz, the 9-5 second choice, rallied too late and had to settle for third, another half-length back. Show was good for $2.10, and the $1 exotics were worth $15.60 (exacta) and $33 (4-1-3 trifecta). You Lift Me Up retreated to fourth, and Prytania (Royal Academy) trailed throughout. Gotta Have Her was coming off a close third to Wasted Tears (Najran) and Lilly Fa Pootz in the John C. Mabee S. (G2), where Smith tried to get her to sneak through along the inside. The mare much prefers being kept outside of rivals, unbeknownst to Smith, who had just picked up the mount from the injured Tyler Baze. Armed with that knowledge following the Mabee, Smith made sure to keep Gotta Have Her on the outside in the Palomar, and she decisively turned the tables on Lilly Fa Pootz. Gotta Have Her's sixth career stakes victory boosted her bankroll to $1,092,608 from her 29-10-7-5 line. The bay mare placed in the Providencia S. (G3) and China Doll S. as a sophomore before finally breaking through with a first stakes win in the Harold C. Ramser Sr. H.. Gotta Have Her continued to record placings in black-type events as a four-year-old, running second in the 2008 Palomar and Dahlia H. (G2), but had her breakout year last season. The turf runner captured the 2009 Palomar, Las Cienegas H. (G3) and Senator Ken Maddy H. (G3) while registering placings in the likes of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint against the boys, John C. Mabee S. (G1), Tuzla H. (G3) and the Royal Heroine Mile (G2). Third in the Las Cienegas in her 2010 debut, the six-year-old was a close sixth in the Gamely S. (G1) before capturing the July 3 Royal Heroine Mile. Bred in Kentucky by Nursery Place and Robert T. Manfuso, Gotta Have Her is out of the unraced Winnowing (Rahy) and counts as half-siblings dual stakes-placed Haka Girl (War Chant) and an unnamed yearling filly by Hard Spun. Winnowing is herself a half-sister to Grade 2 heroine Lady Blessington (Fr) (Baillamont), French Group 3 victor Lowell (General Holme) and multiple stakes queen Red Cat (Storm Cat). This is the same family as Group 3 winner Lady Vettori (Vettori), who is the dam of this year's French Two Thousand Guineas (Fr-G1) and Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) (Fr-G1) king Lope de Vega (Shamardal) as well as Group 3 victress Bal de la Rose (Cadeaux Genereux). Others of note in this line include French champion *La Mirambule (Coaraze); Nasram (*Nasrullah), winner of the 1964 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S.; and Tambourine (*Princequillo), the 1962 Irish Derby scorer. Gotta Have Her sold for $300,000 as a Keeneland September yearling to her connections.
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