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Summer Applause captures Allaire duPont Distaff
"I thought she ran a good race," said Sea Island's trainer, Shug McGaughey. "There wasn't any pace and she made a good run at her. I thought maybe we were going to get her at the head of the stretch, but it's a pretty nice filly that won." "I liked the way she ran, but unfortunately we were second best today," concurred jockey Javier Castellano, who was aboard Sea Island. "She put in a good effort and I was satisfied with the way she did it." Summer Applause made a name for herself last year while preparing for the Kentucky Oaks. After a pair of easy wins to close out her juvenile campaign, including a seven-length romp at Fair Grounds, the filly started 2012 with a runner-up effort in the Silverbulletday at that New Orleans venue. She got back on the winning track in the Rachel Alexandra, and made her final prep before the Oaks a head second in the Fair Grounds Oaks to eventual Kentucky Oaks heroine Believe You Can. After a nice run to be fourth under the Twin Spires on the eve of the Kentucky Derby, Summer Applause wouldn't be seen again until January 26 at Sam Houston in Texas. She wound up sixth and last in the Houston Ladies Classic in her return from that near nine-month layoff. It also turned out to be her final race for Bret Calhoun, who had taken over training duties on the filly from Josie Carroll following her juvenile campaign. Summer Applause made her initial start for new conditioner Chad Brown in the Top Flight Handicap in early March, scoring a 2 3/4-length win in that Aqueduct affair. The Kentucky-bred miss tried Grade 1 competition last out in the Apple Blossom Handicap, and reputed herself well with a fourth-place finish. She's now earned $587,406 to go along with her 11-5-2-0 career mark. "She ran great. She was spotting everyone six pounds," Brown said. "I was worried about that when I was handicapping the race the last couple days. To really pull away like that and to run such a strong race against some nice fillies, giving weight, I'm really proud of her. We didn't know what the pace was going to be, so I left it up to Johnny." Summer Applause, who RNAed for $82,000 as a Fasig-Tipton July Sale yearling, is out of the unraced Royal Academy mare Summer Exhibition, making her a half-sister to duel stakes-placed Big Easy. Summer Exhibition is herself a daughter of stakes victress Dewan's Flag and counts as half-siblings Grade 2 hero Recoup the Cash, stakes scorer Up With the Flag and the dam of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Praise From Dixie. Summer Applause's female family also includes Canadian Horses of the Year Victoria Park, Viceregal and Canadiana, as well as Canadian champion Northern Blossom. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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