Laragh puts on front-running clinic in Jessamine

Laragh led all the way home in the Jessamine (Photo by Z/Keeneland Association)

Golden Goose Enterprise and IEAH Stable's LARAGH (Tapit) secured a

comfortable early lead and was never troubled thereafter, rolling to a

dominating 4 3/4-length victory in Thursday's $150,000

Jessamine S. at Keeneland. The gray rattled off 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in 1:43 2/5 to earn an

automatic berth in the October 24 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa

Anita.

Making her first start since switching to the barn of John Terranova II,

Laragh sprinted her opening quarter in :22 4/5 while opening up a two-length

advantage. New rider Edgar Prado then gave her a breather through fractions of

:47 1/5 and 1:12 3/5, but as soon as she was given her cue on the far turn,

Laragh kicked clear of her pursuers and rapidly put the race away. Ignored as

the 11-1 fifth choice in the 12-filly field, the winner returned $25.20, $10.60

and $6.20.

"Once she got on the backside and she was by herself, she relaxed," Prado

said. "I liked it when she hit another gear at the top of the stretch."

"Mark Casse had her up in Canada," Terranova said of his new recruit. "He did

a hell of a job training her and developing her early on. We were just pleased

to get her and anxious to see what she could do."

The gray lass may be Breeders' Cup bound (Photo by Z/Keeneland Association)

Phola (Johannesburg) came next, followed by War

Tigress (War Chant), It's Tiffin Time (Najran), Lake Cook (Boundary), Glamorous

Gal (Soto), Hint of Lemon (Lemon Drop Kid), Maybe Baby (Johar) and Never Lie (Alke).

Acting Lady (Theatrical [Ire]) was scratched, along with the second

also-eligible, More of the Best (Langfuhr).

Originally campaigned by breeder Mike Ryan, Laragh broke her maiden in her

second career start on Woodbine's Polytrack, and in the process, defeated

subsequent multiple stakes winner Van Lear Rose (Stroll). In the aftermath of

that effort, she was snapped up by her current owners. Laragh tackled stakes

rivals, and turf, next in the Natalma S. (Can-G3), but she tired to fifth on the

soft ground in her final outing for Casse. She now sports a mark of 4-2-0-0 with

$131,365 in earnings.

The Kentucky-bred is out of the unraced Rose of Summer (El Prado [Ire]) and

has a yearling half-sister by Strong Hope and a weanling half-brother by

Purge. This is the family of Grade 1 hero Siphonic (Siphon [Brz]) and multiple

Grade 2-winning millionaire Dixie Dot Cam (Dixie Brass).

"We'll see about the time going into the Breeders' Cup," Terranova said.

"We're going to have to see how she comes out, obviously. We only have 15 days

(until the race). It's been in the back of our minds."