Zo Impressive holds Disposablepleasure in Mother Goose

What was supposed to be a showdown between Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks queen

Believe You Can and Grade 1 Acorn diva Contested turned into a match-race

between Zo Impressive and Disposablepleasure in Saturday's Grade 1, $294,000

Mother Goose Stakes. In the end, Zo Impressive proved best under jockey

Rajiv Maragh, holding her fellow gray rival by three parts of a length while

running 1 1/16 miles in 1:44 1/5 on the good Belmont Park dirt.

"It wasn't a big (field) but it was probably the four best fillies you've got

in the country right now, so that's what made the race pretty special," trainer

Tom Albertrani said. "We always had confidence in our filly, and she was just

very sharp today and gave us a lot of confidence going into the race. She came

out running and she's so easy to place, that Rajiv just took her back as

planned, just to give her a target and wait, wait, wait until the right time.

"I don't think (more distance) should hurt her any, we'll see when we get to

Saratoga with two turns again, try to stretch her out to a mile and an eighth

(in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 21). We're just happy to get

the Grade 1, that's important, and as long as she comes out of the race healthy,

that's really what we want."

Contested moved up to take over pacesetting duties from Wildcat's Smile

before the opening quarter was reached in :23, and was tracked by that rival on

the backstretch through splits of :46 2/5 and 1:11 1/5. Zo Impressive raced just

outside and behind Wildcat's Smile, while Believe You Can tracked down on the

rail.

Disposablepleasure, who bided her time in last early, moved up to the outside

of Zo Impressive rounding the turn, and those two began their runs just as

Contested started spinning her wheels entering the lane. Believe You Can

couldn't seem to muster a rally, leaving the way clear for Zo Impressive and

Disposablepleasure to battle it out amongst themselves.

Zo Impressive would not be denied, though, and held her rival to earn a first

stakes victory. The winner's share of the purse more than doubled her career

earnings to $349,800, and she paid $14.60, $6.60 and $10 as the 6-1 third pick.

"Going into the race, she was very sharp. We had a great post and everything

worked out exactly as we planned," Albertrani said. "We wanted to be in a

position where we could eyeball Contested, you know, be just sitting off her and

everything just worked out beautifully. You could definitely see she was a lot

more focused today going into the race, that's what probably made a difference.

Timing means everything, and she was training well coming into this race so that

meant a lot."

"Maybe the biggest difference was the Acorn had a very speed-favoring track,

and Contested got an uncontested lead," Maragh added. "(Today) several horses

gave her more respect and put on pressure, and that help me beat her. The pace

was a little hot (in the Acorn) and they got away from me more than I wanted. I

had too much ground to make up. We wanted more of a tracking position today."

Disposablepleasure was sent off the 10-1 second longest shot among the

five-filly field and was forced to settle for second after an objection lodged

by her jockey, Ramon Dominguez, against Maragh and Zo Impressive for alleged

interference in the stretch was disallowed by the stewards.

"I was looking forward to stretching her out to 1 1/16 miles," said

Disposablepleasure's trainer, Todd Pletcher. "It was a lot different track than

we saw on Acorn day. She'd been training very well and I wasn't surprised by the

way she ran."

Believe You Can was another 8 1/2 lengths behind Disposablepleasure in third,

while Wildcat's Smile and Contested completed the order under the wire.

"It's my Mother Goose jinx -- I've never had any luck in this race," Larry

Jones stated after Believe You Can finished third as the 7-2 second favorite. "I

was second with (favorite) Joyful Victory last year, (eventual champion) Proud

Spell didn't win (disqualified from second to third in 2008) and neither did

Island Sand (third in 2004). I think maybe next time we'll skip the Mother Goose

and go straight to the Coaching Club American Oaks."

"I'm not disappointed with the way race unfolded," said Javier Castellano,

who had piloting duties aboard 1-2 choice Contested. "She made the lead. At the

quarter-pole, I was dead. I didn't have a horse. It really surprised me because

she had been working so good. It could be the track. I was inside, and the track

is very deep inside."

Zo Impressive is now 3-2-0 from five lifetime starts. The Hard Spun filly

just opened her racing career this year, capturing her initial two starts by a

combined 10 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream Park. She was bumped and steadied early

while making her stakes bow in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks and wound up

second that day. The Kentucky-bred sophomore was given a couple months off and

returned last out to be second once more, this time to Contested in the Acorn,

but finally returned to her winning form here.

The Live Oak homebred is out of the Cozzene mare Zoftig, who captured the

Grade 1 Selene Stakes and ran second in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes in 2000. That

gray mare would go on in the breeding shed to produce the unbeaten Zofzig,

herself the dam of last year's Group 1 Racing Post Trophy runner-up Zip Top, as

well as Zaftig, winner of the 2008 Acorn and Grade 3 Nassau County Stakes while

third in that same year's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Zo Impressive's third dam is the Nijinsky II mare Dancing Slippers, a Grade

3-placed stakes victress, and her fourth dam is the winning *Herbager mare

Chain, a full sister to Grade 1 victor Yamanin and dam of Grade 1 queen Chain

Bracelet.

This female line is notable for producing dual classic-winning champion Swale

as well as multiple Grade 1-scoring champion and top sire Forty Niner.

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