Ekati's Phaeton scores in Old Hat

Grade 3 winner Fashion Alert was expected to return a winner on Saturday in

Gulfstream Park's Grade 3, $100,000

Old Hat

Stakes, but instead it was Ekati's Phaeton who took top honors with jockey

Luis Saez aboard. The duo just survived a stretch-long duel with R Sassy Lass to

finish six furlongs over the fast main track in 1:10.

Fashion Alert, sent off the 2-5 favorite, entered the Old Hat off a

three-month break, having last been seen suffering her first loss in the Grade 1

Alcibiades at Keeneland in early October. The Old Fashioned miss didn't get a

clean break in the Old Hat, hopping at the start, and appeared rank as she

rushed up on the hooves of Concealedwithakiss and Ekati's Phaeton. Those two set

the pace from the beginning, posting splits of :22 3/5 and :45, but allowed just

enough room for Fashion Alert to move up between and challenge for the lead.

As Ekati's Phaeton continued motoring, Fashion Alert backed up rounding the

turn with Concealedwithakiss soon following. R Sassy Lass had been tracking in

the second flight and put in her move in the lane, drawing even with Ekati's

Phaeton. They battled it out in the stretch, but Ekati's Phaeton managed to inch

away late for the half-length score.

"We had a perfect trip," Saez remarked. "My filly broke good. It looked like

she could have taken the lead, but I didn't want to do that. I saw a replay of

her last race and she looked like she waited for horses. Today, I wanted to come

from behind. When we came to the stretch, I had to let her run. When she saw the

other horse passing her, she started running again."

"I left it up to Luis. I told him there was speed in the race and he said he

was going to go with what the break is. I said you just do whatever you want to

do," Kaplan said. "She broke good and then the favorite (Fashion Alert) got

stuck in between. He let the favorite come inside of him and I was a little

upset at the time but I think we maybe intimidated that horse out of there, so

maybe it was a good factor.

"She's a game mare and she's got a tremendous amount of talent. You haven't

seen her speed yet. She's really got some speed. It's fantastic for this owner

and this filly. She's going to be special. She's got all the tools and you see

she's a real stout, big filly. She's got the mind and she's got the talent and

she's got the soundness. What else can you use?"

Ekati's Phaeton improved her record to 5-3-1-0, $118,360, while earning a

first black-type victory for her sire, Tale of Ekati, in this three-year-old

debut. The dark bay miss broke her maiden over the track in August, took an

allowance one month later and was sixth while making her stakes bow in the Our

Dear Peggy Stakes in October. She was given a brief freshening before running

second in her juvenile finale, the House Party Stakes, on November 29 at

Gulfstream Park West.

Bred in Kentucky by Haymarket Farm and Machmer Hall, Ekati's Phaeton was

purchased by owner Phaedrus Flights LLC for $50,000 as an OBS August yearling

after RNAing for $18,000 as a Keeneland November weanling. Her owner attempted

to sell her at the OBS March Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds in Training, but she

once again RNAed, this time for $150,000.