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Aruna takes eventful Sheepshead Bay
The stewards also had to adjudicate the case of Mystical Star. Ruling that she had to be disqualified on the basis of her breaking the gate open prior to the starter's pressing the button, the stewards demoted her and placed her last of the eight who finished. It was a tough blow to her connections -- owner Cheyenne Stables and trainer Christophe Clement -- as well as fans who had included her in their wagers. After Mystical Star and Magical Cat's mishaps at the start, Aqsaam barreled to the front and opened up a huge lead through splits of :22 4/5 and :47 1/5 on the good inner turf. The headstrong filly finally slowed it down to reach six furlongs in 1:13 1/5, while still 10 lengths clear. Hit It Rich and Principal Role were the prominent stalkers, but Aruna began to improve her position on the backstretch. Nearing the final turn, Aqsaam clung to a diminishing advantage through a mile in 1:38 3/5, and Aruna was cruising into contention for Ramon Dominguez. The 2-1 favorite adroitly passed Principal Role and then outfooted Hit It Rich. The Graham Motion mare rapidly overtook Aqsaam to strike the front and drew clear at the top of the stretch. "She settled down so beautifully for me," Dominguez said. "There was a spot by the three-eighths pole where I had to make a decision; I was very happy with where I was on the rail and she was pretty handy, but realistically, the horse in front of me was starting to slow down, and there was the filly outside me. I had to really take a shot and go through at that moment, which I did. I was a little concerned it would compromise my filly, but she kept on coming for me, so I was very happy with her." Although Hit It Rich and Mystical Star were both inching closer inside the final furlong, Aruna held sway by a comfortable 1 1/4 lengths. The winner stopped the teletimer in 2:15 2/5 for 1 3/8 grassy miles and returned $6.10, $3.10 and $2.60. Hit It Rich held the runner-up spot by a half-length from Mystical Star. Principal Role, who was outpaced for a while, stayed on resolutely for fourth, but was elevated to third upon the disqualification of Mystical Star. Aqsaam was promoted to fourth. Distorted Legacy, Woodford Belle and Hasay completed the order of finish, with Mystical Star officially placed last. Senada was withdrawn, along with the main-track-only entrants Arena Elvira, Acting Happy, Pinch Pie and Draw It. Aruna's resume now reads 15-7-3-1, $945,379. Originally trained in France by Jonathan Pease, the daughter of Mr. Greeley was well regarded, but didn't quite deliver on her promise. She was fourth in the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte and sixth in the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary. Discovered to be a bleeder, the Kentucky-bred was repatriated in the summer of 2010. Aruna made an immediate splash for Motion. She reeled off a hat trick, including the Pebbles Stakes at Belmont and the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs. At four in 2011, Aruna scored her biggest win in the Grade 1 Spinster on Keeneland's Polytrack, as well as a victory in the Grade 3 All Along on the Colonial Downs turf. She also finished runner-up in both the Grade 1 Diana Stakes and the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile. Aruna was beaten just a length when fifth in the November 4 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, where she didn't get the best of trips. That was her only prior attempt at the 1 3/8-mile distance of the Sheepshead Bay. She returned to action in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley over a mile at Keeneland on April 14, but was compromised by a slow pace and wound up last in the short field of six. "She handled (the 'good' turf), and she's run on 'good' ground before," Motion said. "She's just been a really unlucky filly in her last two races. "(Dominguez) kind of committed to going for it. In her last two races, we just tried taking her out of it too much in the Breeders' Cup and Jenny Wiley. She's a much more settled filly this year; we don't have to worry about (getting her to relax). She's every bit as good as she was last year -- she's just had two unlucky runs." Motion added that Aruna is likely to take another crack at the Diana on July 28 at Saratoga, with Arlington Park's Grade 1 Beverly D. also in the mix on August 18. Aruna was produced by the Grade 2-winning Unbridled mare Surya. With her fourth dam being Grade 2 winner Kittiwake, Aruna hails from the family of multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Miss Oceana, French Group 1 scorer Kitwood, English Group 1 diva Magic of Life and Grade 1 Canadian International winner Joshua Tree. Bet the Belmont Stakes at TwinSpires.com
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