Eldon
Farm Equine’s Just Louise put
away 3-5 favorite Salty Strike in deep stretch and then held off a late
surge from Tristanme to win the 110th running of the $108,800
Debutante Stakes (GIII) for 2-year-old fillies by a neck on Saturday afternoon
at Churchill Downs.
Trained
Dale Romans and ridden by Robby Albarado, Just Louise tracked the
early pace of Big Sweets and Salty Strike, who blistered the first
quarter-mile in :21.14. Midway on the far turn, Albarado sent Just Louise up
three wide to grab the lead from Big Sweets as Salty Strike dropped back to
third.
Turning
for home after a half-mile in :44.73, Just Louise had the lead, but Salty
Strike, under Calvin Borel, re-rallied on the rail to take the lead in
upper stretch. Salty Strike maintained the advantage until fewer than 50 yards
remained when Just Louise eased by and had enough left to hold off Tristanme,
ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan.
Just
Louise ran the six furlongs on a fast main track in 1:11.85. The victory, the
second in as many starts for the homebred daughter of Five Star Day out of the Mt. Livermore
mare Kings Lynn, was worth $66,107 and increased her bankroll to $94,907.
Second
choice in the field of seven, Just Louise returned $5.60, $3.80 and $2.20.
Tristanme returned $16 and $5 with Salty Strike, finishing a nose back in
third, paying $2.10 to show. Completing the field in order were Internet
Café, Tater Taunter, Bach Hamilton and Big Sweets.
Racing
resumes Sunday with a 10-race program beginning at 12:45 p.m. (ET). There’s a
one-day Pick 6 carryover of $5,088 on races 5-10. Only five dates remain at the
2010 Spring Meet, which concludes Sunday, July 4.
DEBUTANTE STAKES QUOTES
ROBBY
ALBARADO (jockey, JUST LOUISE, winner):
“She’s a very a nice filly, very smart. I got lucky with my draw on the outside
(post six of seven), which was good for her. She won very impressive. Last time
she beat a bunch of good maidens, and the same with Salty Strike. I had an
option to ride either one and you could split them. But the way her (Just Louise)
running style is fits just in case she gets behind horses. She ran big. I had
to keep her running down the stretch. She kind of looked around a little bit,
they battled back and forth and she got her head in front.”
DALE
ROMANS (trainer, JUST LOUISE, winner):
“She’s a very nice filly and she’s just like her sister (half to 2008
Pocahontas winner Sara Louise). This race is something for her to improve off
of. She dug in game. I thought at the top of the lane it would open up, but you
know Calvin (Borel aboard Salty Strike) had a lot of horse, and it was a
dogfight to the end. She will point toward the Saratoga meet.”
SHAUN
BRIDGMOHAN (jockey, TRISTANME, second):
“We went good. She ran hard and good and she was able to close off that pace.”
SCOTT
BLASI (assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, TRISTANME, second): “She ran her race and she finished well. We were
just unlucky to win. The filly that won (Just Louise) ran a big race. She’ll
improve off this effort.”
CALVIN
BOREL (jockey, SALTY STRIKE, third):
“No excuse. We got outrun. The six horse (Just Louise) was right there with us,
and turning for home, I thought I was home free but didn’t have it today.”
PHILIP
BAUER (assistant to trainer Ken McPeek, SALTY STRIKE, third): “The speed up front didn’t help us, but she ran a
game race. We were proud of her effort. This was just her second start and she
will continue to improve. Being by Smart Strike she has the pedigree to go
further and we will try doing that at Saratoga.
She fought hard today.”
NOTES: Jockey Robby Albarado and trainer Dale Romans
collected their first stakes wins of the 2010 Spring Meet. … It was the 64th
Churchill Downs stakes win for Albarado (second all time behind Pat Day’s 156)
and 24th for Romans (ranks seventh all time). …Albarado won
the Debutante for the third time. He also piloted Effectual and Garden
District to victories in 2005 and ’08, respectively. … Romans collected his
first Debutante win after finishing second in two previous editions: Vibs
(2002) and Joint Effort (2005). … After quick early splits of :21.14 and
:44.73, the leaders completed the final quarter mile in :27.12 and the last
eighth in :14.07.