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Embur's Song doubledogdares rivals to catch her
Making her third start off the layoff Friday, Embur's Song sprinted to her customary spot on the front end and posted fractions of :23 4/5, :47 3/5 and 1:11 2/5. Much Rejoicing (Distorted Humor) was her nearest pursuer, but Denomination (Smart Strike), Blushing Dixie (Dixie Union) and Milwaukee Appeal (Milwaukee Brew) were also in striking range. The stalkers were caught flat-footed, though, when Embur's Song suddenly picked up the pace. After building up a comfortable 2 1/2-length cushion into the stretch, the longtime leader had only the late-running Check the Label to fear. The closer, who was forced to steady when advancing on the far turn, soon recovered and was gaining ground rapidly in the final yards, but the wire came in time for Embur's Song. The winner paid $21.20, $10.40 and $5.20. "It's whatever she wants to do," said Velazquez, who was scoring his fourth win on the card. "I tried to settle her down as good as I could without fighting her too much. She wants to be where she wants to be, and hopefully I have something left to run down the lane. And she did. She held on." "It looked like on paper that she might be the only speed," Pletcher observed. "She's kind of a headstrong filly -- behaved really well today. She didn't behave very well at Gulfstream; she was much better today, and I think that made the difference. "They (the fractions) were solid. Down the backside, you could see she was on the bridle. I thought Johnny rode a great race, kind of spread it out at the three-eighths pole and gave her a little advantage. She just had enough to hold on." "I thought we were going to get up, but we just ran out of ground," jockey Ramon Dominguez said of Check the Label. "One or two more jumps and we'd get up." "I'm happy, but I'm also disappointed," Check the Label's trainer Graham Motion said. "When we came here with her last year (for the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup [G1]), we were obviously a little disappointed with how she ran (sixth). We felt she had a really long year and that it was maybe one race too many, so we decided to give her a break. I'm thrilled to see her come back and look as good as she did last year." Dead-heating for third, another two lengths back, were 3-1 favorite Washington Bridge (Yankee Gentleman) and It's Tea Time (Dynaformer). The slow-starting La Gran Bailadora (Afleet Alex) got up for fifth. Much Rejoicing, Satans Quick Chick (Sky Mesa), Denomination, Milwaukee Appeal, Blushing Dixie and Riviera Chic (Medaglia d'Oro) rounded out the order of finish, and Acronym (Empire Maker) and Miss Luann (Unbridled's Song) were scratched. Embur's Song boosted her earnings to $244,940 from her 7-3-1-1 line. Bred by Josham Farms Limited, the bay was sold for $170,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The four-year-old is out of the multiple stakes-placed Embur Sunshine, whose other foals include Canadian Grade 3-placed stakes winner Ten Flat (Meadowlake), the Canadian stakes-placed Embattle (Phone Trick) and Dawn Raid (Vindication) and a juvenile filly named Embur's Melody (Mr. Greeley). This is the family of three-time Canadian champion Eternal Search (Northern Answer), Grade 1-winning millionaire Island Sand (Tabasco Cat), Queen's Plate hero Niigon (Unbridled) and recently-honored Canadian Broodmare of the Year Destroy (Mt. Livermore), dam of Play the King S. (Can-G2) winner Smokey Fire (Smoke Glacken) and fellow Canadian stakes scorers Utterly Cool (Smoke Glacken) and Ghost Fleet (Arch). Pletcher hasn't settled on a definitive target for Embur's Song. "I don't know," Pletcher said. "We're running out of Polytrack options soon, so maybe something up at Arlington."
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