Inimitable Romanee leads throughout for Long Island upset

Inimitable Romanee actually went off at 28-1 and won by a length in a time of

2:34 1/5, returning $58.50, $19.80 and $9.60.

"I was concerned with my two horses (Inimitable Romanee and Strathnaver)

being head-to-head, but when I saw 1:20 (for three-quarters) I felt pretty

comfortable," trainer Graham Motion said. "Chris rode a great race. He kind of

had it strategized beforehand, and I give him a lot of credit.

"She's a deserving mare, a hard-knocking mare, who deserved to win (a

stakes). She had been knocking heads with some hard-knocking fillies. It just

goes to show you how tough those New York-breds have been."

Tabreed, a 5-1 chance, rallied up the rail for second, a half-length ahead of

Left a Message. Strathnaver weakened to fourth and was followed by White Rose,

8-5 favorite Aigue Marine, and Sheppard's Pie.

This was the first stakes win for Inimitable Romanee, who had previously

placed six times in New York-bred stakes company. Second in the Irish Linnet and

third in the John Hettinger in 2012, she finished second in the Mount Vernon and

On the Bus and third in the John Hettinger and Yaddo earlier this year. Her

record now stands at 20-3-6-5, $323,875.

Inimitable Romanee is by Maria's Mon out of the Grade 3-winning Cellars

Shiraz, a daughter of Kissin Kris.

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