Poor start, wide trip prove Catalyst for Maram defeat

Miss Catalyst hangs on from Pull Dancer (center) and Maram (left) (Ross Woodson/Horsephotos.com) Gulf Coast Farms and Arianne De Kwiatkowski's MISS CATALYST (Mr. Greeley) pulled a 7-1 upset in Monday's $110,000 Pebbles S. at Belmont Park, taking full advantage of 7-5 favorite Maram's (Sahm) tardy beginning and wide trip to inflict upon her a first career defeat. Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Javier Castellano, Miss Catalyst was among the pace-prompting squad early, among those pressing Blushing Dixie (Dixie Union) through splits of :23 1/5, :47 1/5 and 1:10 3/5. Meanwhile, Maram lagged near the back of the nine-horse field before swinging out five wide for the drive. Miss Catalyst took control in the stretch and spurted to a 1 1/2-length advantage, but the closers began to make an impact inside the final furlong. Although Pull Dancer (Pulpit) and Maram were rapidly gaining ground in tandem, the pair could not quite reel in Miss Catalyst, who held on by a neck. The chestnut finished the mile on firm turf in 1:34 and returned $17.40, $8.40 and $5.30.

"Perfect trip," Castellano recapped. "She set up beautifully today and put

herself in a good spot. The fractions were decent. Turning for home, I had

plenty of horse. She felt really strong. At the sixteenth-pole, I knew they were

coming on, and I knew it was going to be Maram."

"She's a very generous filly, and Javier rode a tactically beautiful race; it

just worked out real well," assistant trainer Jonathan Thomas said. "She's a

filly that's really coming into her own now. Todd will discuss with the owners

where she'll go from here."

Pull Dancer, who had saved ground relative to Maram on the turn, earned

runner-up honors by a nose, paying $12.80 and $6.30 at 14-1. Maram, last year's

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine, gave back $3.

"I didn't want to be that far back," trainer Chad Brown said of Maram's trip.

"She broke bad; she was too wide. There was nothing I liked about that. We'll

just see how she comes back."

The exotics totaled $191 (exacta), $661 (trifecta) and $3,018 (9-2-1-6

superfecta). Legally Blanca (Northern Afleet), Dynaslew (Dynaformer), My Magic

Moment (Forest Wildcat), Miss Blakely (Smart Strike), Blushing Dixie and

Denomination (Smart Strike) completed the order under the wire.

Miss Catalyst's first stakes victory advanced her scorecard to 9-3-3-1,

$162,340. The sophomore took six tries to break her maiden, ticking that box at

Belmont in July, and cleared her entry-level allowance condition next time out

at Saratoga. Miss Catalyst then acquitted herself well in stakes company,

finishing second to Silver Reunion (Harlan's Holiday) in the Riskaverse S. back

at the Spa.

Bred by co-owner Gulf Coast Farms in Kentucky, Miss Catalyst is the first

registered foal from the stakes-winning Key to the Cat (Tale of the Cat), who

has since produced three more fillies -- an unraced juvenile named Keysong (Songandaprayer),

an unnamed yearling by Malibu Moon and a weanling by Unbridled's Song. This is

the family of Tempest Queen (Graustark), the champion three-year-old filly of

1978.