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Roshani refuses to yield in Gallorette

Roshani (right) and Lady Digby engaged in a stirring stretch battle (Jim McCue/MarylandJockey Club) Ben McElroy's ROSHANI (Fantastic Light) earned her victory in Saturday's $100,000 Gallorette H. (G3) the hard way. After turning back a stiff challenge from Lady Digby (Grand Slam) in the stretch, the 6-5 favorite had to survive a stewards' inquiry and an objection before being ruled the official winner. Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez, the dark bay mare slogged 1 1/16 miles on Pimlico's good turf course in 1:49. Longshot Le Cordon Bleu (Royal Academy) went to the early lead and gradually angled over from her outside post, with Roshani taking up a close stalking position just to the outside of, and slightly ahead of, Valbenny (Ire) (Val Royal [Fr]). As the field passed the stands for the first time and approached the clubhouse turn, Valbenny was caught in tight quarters behind Roshani, had to steady sharply, and lost her early position. Roshani maintained her spot in second and kept close tabs on Le Cordon Bleu through soft splits of :25 2/5 and :50 1/5. Roshani made her move and struck the front through six furlongs in 1:15, but she was soon accosted by a rallying Lady Digby. The pair pulled well clear as they engaged in their own private war, in which Lady Digby briefly appeared to hold the upper hand. In deep stretch, however, Lady Digby hopped back to her left lead, and Roshani renewed her attack along the inside. The determined winner clawed back a half-length advantage at the wire, while Lady Digby had drawn 4 1/2 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Valbenny.

There were still hurdles to clear before the bare result was allowed to stand. An inquiry sign flashed as the stewards reviewed the video of the incident involving Valbenny in the early going. Moreover, jockey Jeremy Rose, who rode runner-up Lady Digby, lodged an objection against Roshani for alleged interference in the stretch. After both counts were evaluated, Roshani was allowed to keep her trophy.

"Down the stretch, I wanted to feel somebody right next to me," Velazquez explained, "because (Roshani) got to the lead and started completely looking at the crowd and started to slow down. So I moved out to the other horse (Lady Digby), but I never interrupted her or touched her. I just moved close. They claimed foul, but I never touched her."

"Once I thought we were interfered with, my horse switched leads and dropped the bit on me," Rose said of his view aboard the runner-up. "We were head-and-head at the time and had every opportunity to win the race."

The public's choice returned $4.40, $3 and $2.20. The 6-1 Lady Digby rewarded her loyalists with $5 and $2.80, and Valbenny gave back $2.40 at 2-1. The exacta was worth $21.40, the trifecta totaled $52.20, and with the 5-2 Stormy West (Gone West) a distant fourth, the 3-4-1-2 superfecta was good for $63.60. Le Cordon Bleu faded to last in the five-horse field, which was depleted by the scratches of Debbie Sue (Citidancer) and Saint Pegasus (Fusaichi Pegasus).

With this second career stakes victory to her credit, Roshani advanced her scorecard to 11-6-2-1, $331,300. Last season, she rapidly graduated from the maiden ranks into a graded stakes performer, landing the Matchmaker S. (G3) and placing in the Violet S. (G3) and Eatontown S. (G3). The five-year-old was coming off a close fourth-place finish in a sparkling edition of the Jenny Wiley S. (G2) at Keeneland.

Bred by Mill Ridge Farm and Jamm Ltd., the Kentucky-bred is out of the unraced Deputy Minister mare Sahibah, who is herself a half-sister to multiple stakes winners Songlines (Diesis [GB]) and Binalong (Known Fact). This is the family of Grade 2 queen Kumari Continent (Kris S.) and this year's La Habra S. (G3) heroine Passion (Came Home). Roshani has an unraced juvenile half-brother named Cullinan (Johar) and an unnamed yearling half-brother by Eurosilver.

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