Smooth win for Seattle in Cotillion

Seattle Smooth earned her first graded win in the Cotillion (Alyssa Kwiatek/Equi-Photo)

Mercedes Stables' SEATTLE SMOOTH (Quiet American) was transferred to trainer

Tony Dutrow a couple of months ago, and immediately stepped up to take the Go

for Wand S. at Delaware Park. On Saturday at Philadelphia Park, the bay lass

made it two-for-two for her new conditioner when taking the $750,000

Cotillion S. (G2) by 2 1/2 lengths under jockey Jose Lezcano.

"I'm overwhelmed," Dutrow said. "Larry (Jones) and my brother Rick

(Dutrow) both came here with great fillies in Proud Spell (Proud

Citizen) and By the Light (Malibu Moon), and we beat them. This is just

a tremendous win."

Color Me Up (Aptitude) was quickest from her inside post, getting to the

front and setting splits of :24 1/5, :48 2/5, 1:11 4/5 and 1:36 1/5. All the

while, Kentucky Oaks (G1) queen Proud Spell was third while running in between

horses. Color Me Up started to tire nearing the stretch and began drifting out,

taking her rivals to the outside with her. One of those was Proud Spell, who had

already had to check multiple times on the backstretch. Seattle Smooth, who had been tracking along

the inside, took advantage of the melee and angled out, rallying down the stretch to finish up 1 1/16 miles on

the fast dirt in 1:42 2/5.

Sent off the 3-1 second pick, Seattle Smooth paid $8.40, $3 and $2.80 while

keying the $15 exacta and $163.80 trifecta (4-6-1).

Proud Spell could never catch Seattle Smooth in the Cotillion (Bill Denver/Equi-Photo)

"Everybody wants to beat her," Jones said. "We came here with a big

bulls eye on our back and got beat by a little race riding. We were

packing a good bit more weight than the others and in that scenario, you

look to get yourself a nice clean trip. Today, we got anything but."

The 2-5 favorite returned $2.10 and $2.10 for second. Color Me Up was easily best of the rest,

taking third by 7 1/2 lengths and giving back $5.40 as the 60-1 longshot. By the

Light was next under the wire, while Picker (Forestry) and Million

Dollar Run (Tejano Run) completed the order of finish. Never Retreat (Smart

Strike) was scratched.

Seattle Smooth began her career with Julio Canani, running second by a neck

in the California Oaks after breaking her maiden. She was out of her league when

running fifth in the Santa Anita Oaks (G1), and rebounded when dropped back down

to stakes competition with a six-length score in the Bay Meadows Oaks. Shipped

to the East Coast for the first time when third in Pimlico's Black-Eyed Susan S.

(G1), the filly was never a factor in the San Clemente H. (G2) prior to joining

her new barn.