Love and Pride scores in Obeah

by Jennifer Caldwell

Green Hills Farm Inc.'s Love and Pride added a first graded victory to her

resume on Saturday with a 1 3/4-length wire job in the Grade 3, $150,000

Obeah

Handicap at Delaware Park. The four-year-old daughter of A.P. Indy used her

rail post to good advantage, grabbing command out of the gate and setting splits

of :23 2/5, :47 3/5, 1:11 3/5 and 1:37 1/5 before finishing 1 1/8 miles on the

fast dirt in 1:49 4/5.

Jockey Jeremy Rose guided the Todd Pletcher trainee around the track and had

enough mount left to withstand 4-5 favorite Tiz Miz Sue's rally in the lane.

That one bided her time on the backstretch, stalking the pace while wide, before

scooting between Love and Pride and Suroof to challenge rounding the turn. The

five-year-old mare put in a game effort but just couldn't catch the winner and

was forced to settle for second in the Obeah for a second straight year.

The pair could find themselves in a rematch if their connections opt to enter

them both in the Grade 2, $750,000 Delaware Handicap on July 21. The top four

finishes from the Obeah, the local prep for the 1 1/4-mile Del 'Cap, earn a free

nomination to that race.

Love and Pride paid $4.20, $2.20 and $2.10 as the even-money second choice in

the field of five. Check Point was another nine lengths behind Tiz Miz Sue on

the wire to take third, while Suroof and She Be Classy completed the order of

finish after Pachattack was withdrawn in favor of the Grade 3 All Along Stakes

at Colonial Downs later on the day.

Love and Pride opened her career at Delaware, taking her maiden debut by

three parts of a length, and two races later recorded an 8 1/4-length victory

against optional claiming company. She made her first foray outside the confines

of Delaware when shipped to New York for Saratoga's Proud Spell Stakes and

triumphed on that day by 6 3/4 lengths.

The dark bay lass wouldn't visit the winner's circle again until making her

four-year-old bow on January 28, capturing the Affectionately Stakes at Aqueduct

by seven lengths. She was second next out in the Grade 2 Top Flight Handicap and

just missed by a head in the Grade 3 Allaire duPont Distaff most recently. The

Obeah improved Love and Pride's record to 13-5-2-4, including a third in last

year's Grade 1 Gazelle Stakes, and she has now banked $370,760 in lifetime

earnings.

Bred in Kentucky by Stud TNT, Love and Pride was a $380,000 Keeneland April

two-year-old in training RNA. She is out of the Grade 1-placed Storm Cat mare

Ile de France, making her a three-quarter sibling to classic-winning champion

and top sire Bernardini. That stallion and Ile de France are both out of

Broodmare of the Year and Grade 1 victress Cara Rafaela, who also produced the

dam of multiple Grade 3 scorer Thiskyhasnolimit. Cara Rafaela is herself a

half-sister to dual Grade 3 hero and sire Abaginone.

Love and Pride's fourth dam is the Grade 3-winning Northern Dancer mare

Northern Fable.

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