The expectations are tepid at best when debuting in a $40,000 maiden claiming at Parx outside of Philadelphia.
But, Gray Lightning, a Pennsylvania-bred filly, is proving it’s not where you start but how fast you run. Her last race was a third in the Jersey Girl Stakes at Saratoga last month during the prestigious Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
Since breaking her maiden by 6 ¾ lengths during the race at Parx last year, the decision was made by owners Wynter Racing Stable and trainer Tyler Servis to protect the talented horse going forward.
Servis, who is the son of Kentucky Derby-winning trainer John Servis, was correct in his assessment and they protected her next time out in a second-place finish in a starter optional claiming race.
The daughter of Social Inclusion got some time off in the winter after an illness and came back this March in an allowance optional claimer. She was sent off at 7-2 odds and romped home by 14 ½ lengths.
“(The illness) kind of forced us to back off her a little bit,” Servis said. “We gave her some time off and she really just blossomed. She put on a ton of weight, and she grew up mentally. We were pretty confident going into that race. She really seemed like she turned the corner and started developing into a nice three-year-old.”
The offers started rolling in after that race and the connections thought it might be wise to take some money off the table with their modestly bred horse. She sold at the Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale in April for $370,000.
The new owners kept her with Servis, and she romped again by 12 ¼ lengths in an allowance race at Parx in late April. That led to the decision to enter her in the Jersey Girl Stakes.
“I thought it was going to be an easier spot than it turned out to be,” Servis said. “Obviously, hooking into two undefeated fillies in that race, I thought she ran really good.
“I definitely think she got beat by probably the best three-year-old sprinting filly in the country right now. I wasn’t disappointed, but I did think that we probably should have been second in there if everything would have worked out in our favor. There was no beating the winner, she was ultra impressive. I was happy the way my filly ran.”
The winner of the Jersey Girl was Almostgone Rocket for trainer Brad Cox. The filly is undefeated and likely will run in the Grade I Test Stake at Saratoga in August. Servis has high hopes for Gray Lightning and has a plan for her to run in stakes company in July with the ultimate goal being the $750,000 Grade II Charles Town Oaks in West Virginia in August.
Neecie Marie
Butch’s Bunch
Trainer Butch Reid finds himself with a major contender in the filly and mare turf division. Neecie Marie ran second to Didia (ARG) in the Grade I New York Stakes last month at Saratoga. She won the Grade III Beaugay in May, and per David Grening of the Daily Racing Form, she will be pointed toward the Grade I Diana Stakes at Saratoga on July 13.
Uncle Heavy, the winner of the Withers Stakes and sixth in the Preakness, ran fifth in a field of six in the Ohio Derby last month. He bobbled at the start and was never a factor in the race won by Batten Down in front-running fashion.
Ninetyprcentmaddie is another impressive Pennsylvania-bred for Reid that ran during the Belmont Racing Festival. He ran his third straight second place recently, finishing behind the Saratoga-lover Baby Yoda in the Grade II True North Stakes.
Future Is Now
Repole and R. Larry Johnson
The Maryland-bred Mindframe is being pointed toward the $1 million Grade I Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. Mindframe was bred by Maryland horseman R. Larry Johnson and is owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables. The son of Constitution ran second in the Belmont Stakes in only his third career start. His chief rival in the Haskell may be Fierceness, a Repole Stable homebred, who finished a disappointing 15th as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby.
What could be better than breeding Mindframe for R. Larry Johnson? How about breeding and owning Future Is Now. The daughter of Great Notion is also a Maryland-bred and won the Grade II Intercontinental in June at Saratoga. Future Is Now, under the care of longtime Mid-Atlantic trainer Mike Trombetta, was able to hold off the Pennsylvania-bred Roses for Debra by a head in the race. The Blackstone Farm-bred Roses for Debra was sent off the 1-2 favorite in a field of nine.
Book'em Danno
New Jersey Five-O
Book’em Danno landed trainer Derek Ryan his first Grade I stakes victory with a win in the Woody Stephens last month at Saratoga.
The 3-year-old gelded son of Bucchero now has five wins and two seconds from seven career starts. The 2023 New Jersey Horse of the Year may already have locked up 2024 honors. Ryan told Keith McCalmont of NYRA.com that he could return to Saratoga in the Grade I H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on Aug. 24.
