Check the Label
found racing room coming out of the turn and held off the fast-closing Snow Top
Mountain in the final yards Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park to win the 32nd
running of the $250,000 Garden City Stakes, her fourth straight victory and
first in a Grade 1 race.
The dark bay daughter of Stormin
Fever, the even-money favorite in the field of seven 3-year-old fillies, stayed
well behind Queen of the Creek as she led through fractions of 23.39, 47.80 and
1:13.11. Caught behind horses on
the turn, Check the Label got herself to the outside approaching the
quarter-pole and accelerated through the stretch to take command with a furlong
to go, hitting the wire three-quarters of a length in front of Snow Top
Mountain.
“On soft ground like this, it’s
very difficult to make up that kind of ground and she just overcame all the
trouble,” said winning jockey Ramon Dominguez. “She gave me a great kick.”
Check the Label, whose winning
streak began with the Grade 3 Appalachian at Keeneland in April and continued
with the Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont Park in May and the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks
in July, covered the 1 1/8 miles over the yielding inner turf course in
1:51.41.
“I have a lot of confidence in
this filly,” said winning trainer H. Graham Motion of Check the Label, no worse
than fourth in each of her past 12 starts. “I thought she would handle the
going; she’s handled just about everything thrown at her. Ramon had to stead her
coming out of the turn; once again he was impressed with how she is able to get
herself out of trouble. That’s part of what makes her special.”
The victory was the fourth from
seven starts this year for Check the Label, whose lifetime record is 6-2-1 from
13 starts. With the winner’s purse of $150,000, she has now earned $491,227, and
she returned $4 for a $2 win bet to her backers in the crowd of 5,506.
Snow Top Mountain, ridden by Hall of Famer Edgar
Prado, was a length in front of Gitchee Goomie, who in turn was followed by
Persuading, Queen of the Creek, Negligee, and Triple Cream. No Explaining was
scratched.
Although the Breeders’ Cup
remains possible for Check the Label, Motion said she was more likely to start
in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup for 3-year-old fillies at Keeneland
on October 16.
“These Grade 1’s are tough to
come by,” said Motion.