Good Cheer gallops, Mizumi catches on late in Iowa

Last year’s Kentucky Oaks (G1) star Good Cheer returned triumphant as the 1-5 favorite in Friday night’s $98,000 Iowa Distaff, one of four stakes to kick off the weekend’s Festival of Racing at Prairie Meadows.

Two other heavy favorites created a little more suspense. The Bob Baffert-trained Mizumi appeared beaten in the $213,750 Iowa Oaks, but the 3-5 shot finally gained traction late to prevail. In the $98,000 Saylorville S., the 6-5 Paradise City squeezed through an opening in the rail to beat Silent Law. The only mild upset came in the $128,000 Prairie Gold Lassie S., where locally based Wild Vekoma repelled the invaders. 

Iowa Distaff

The Iowa Distaff shaped up as a straightforward affair on paper, with Queen Azteca the only other shipper, and plausible rival, to Godolphin’s homebred Good Cheer. Queen Azteca went forward to set the pace in fractions of :23.14 and :46.32, but Good Cheer was on cruise control in stalking mode. 

Rounding the far turn, Good Cheer effortlessly struck the front by the six-furlong mark in 1:10.70 and galloped home by five lengths. The Brad Cox filly coasted 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.71 under minimal handling by Luis Saez.

Queen Azteca held second by 1 1/2 lengths from Popperina. Starwood and Quiet I’m Not rounded out the quintet after the scratch of Miss Authentic.

Good Cheer’s successful comeback improved her resume to 11-8-1-0, $1,948,230. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro and multiple Grade 1 star Wedding Toast began her career with a seven-race winning streak. Sweeping the Rags to Riches S. and Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill Downs, as well as the Rachel Alexandra (G2) and Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), Good Cheer remained perfect in the Kentucky Oaks. 

But the rest of her sophomore season was anticlimactic. Aside from her gallant second to champion Nitrogen in last summer’s Alabama (G1) at Saratoga, Good Cheer was below form when unplaced in the Acorn (G1) and Sept. 20 Cotillion (G1) in her final outing at three. The Iowa Distaff gave her a confidence boost while putting her back in the win column. 

Iowa Oaks

In contrast, Mizumi entered the Iowa Oaks in sharp current form as the unbeaten winner of Santa Anita’s Summertime Oaks (G3). Like stablemate Desert Gate, the morning-line favorite in Saturday’s Iowa Derby, the Baffert pupil was cross-entered to the counterpart stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis before opting for Prairie. 

Judging by how Mizumi traveled through much of the race, she might have wished to stay home. Her inexperience told as jockey Florent Geroux settled her at the back of the compact field, and Mizumi lost the plot. Dropping further behind, she required strenuous urging on the far turn. Favorite backers had to be counting their losses, until Geroux conjured up a response once steering out into the clear. 

Meanwhile, Brooklyn Blonde pounced on pacesetter Knickleandime and Shilling with a three-wide bid and took command swinging into the lane. Just when Brooklyn Blonde looked to have the race in her grasp, Mizumi regained her focus and suddenly lurched into contention. 

Baoma Corp.’s homebred daughter of Triple Crown champion Justify imposed her authority in a convincing, if belated, display of power. Mizumi motored to a 1 1/4-length decision in a final time of 1:43.54, slightly faster than Good Cheer’s easy 1 1/16 miles in the Iowa Distaff.

Brooklyn Blonde was best of the rest by six lengths. Knickleandime faded to third, and a tail-swishing Shilling was last of the quartet. Go to Girl and Grace Is Free were withdrawn.

Now 3-for-3, Mizumi has bankrolled $234,000. The May 19 foal was unveiled in a 6 1/2-furlong dash at Santa Anita just 17 days shy of her birthday. She readily stepped up in class and trip for the Summertime Oaks, rolling by a gaudier margin of 3 3/4 lengths. The Iowa Oaks marked her first “away game,” and she likely learned a lot to set her up for bigger targets in the second half of the season.

Mizumi’s dam, multiple stakes-placed Sweet Opportunity, was fourth in the Iowa Oaks in 2015 when it held Grade 3 status. 

Saylorville S.

Last year’s Iowa Oaks third, Paradise City, broke through with her first stakes victory in the Saylorville. Recently reinventing herself as a six-furlong specialist, the Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee was favored in the wake of a Churchill allowance score in her reappearance. 

Paradise City was nestled on the inside, drafting just behind Baffert’s front-running Silent Law. When Silent Law left the door ajar on the rail, Paradise City and jockey Micah Husbands gamely threaded the needle. The McKinzie filly pulled 1 1/2 lengths clear of Silent Law, who had seven lengths to spare over third-placer Justinqueso.

Co-owned by C2 Racing Stable, Shining Stables, Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch, and BAG Racing Stables, Paradise City has earned $377,367 from her 14-4-3-1 line. She placed in last year’s Cash Run S. at Gulfstream Park and missed by a nose in the Winter Memories (G3) on the Aqueduct turf. Out of Grade 2 heroine Washington Bridge, Paradise City is a half-sister to Mnasek, the 2021 UAE Oaks winner.

Prairie Gold Lassie

Jim Jorgensen’s Iowa homebred Wild Vekoma did her home state proud, upstaging better-fancied shippers as a 3.80-1 chance in the Prairie Gold Lassie. The Vekoma juvenile overtook longtime leader My Kid’s Said No and parried the late thrust of Cardio Cat by a half-length. Valkyrie, the 8-5 favorite, retreated to a distant fourth.

Trained by Tristan Ashford and ridden by Alfredo Triana Jr., Wild Vekoma negotiated 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.74. She was going one better than her dam, multiple stakes-placed A Wild Notion, who was runner-up in the 2014 Lassie. A debut winner versus state-breds on June 20, Wild Vekoma is 2-for-2 with $119,400 in her account.