Saturday’s $65,000 Open Mind
Handicap for New Jersey-bred fillies and mares brought out some familiar names
like Love That Dance and Karmageddon, and one mare making her stakes debut – Brian
Drazin’s Ever Always.
The 5-year-old state-bred mare
has made only four starts in her life (all impressive), and comes into the Open
Mind off a nearly 12-length score in open company on May 28.
Ever Always, a chestnut by Mr.
Nugget – Judge’s Song, by Saint Ballado, debuted on June 25, 2008, at Monmouth
and finished a neck behind Love That Dance. She was placed first when Love That
Dance was disqualified for interference.
“She should have finished
first that day,” Servis said, “but Love That Dance kept coming in on her
through the stretch and stopped her.”
Ever Always didn’t reappear until
almost a year later, on May 16, 2009, when she won a state-bred allowance by
more than nine lengths, the six furlongs in 1:08 4/5. She came back three weeks
later and won another allowance by 15 ¼ lengths, getting six furlongs in 1:08
2/5.
“She has so much talent,”
Servis said, “but I don’t want to breeze her. I want to run her. I think she
gets her talent from her dam.”
Servis trained Judge’s Song
for the Drazin family, and that filly had a 2-2-1 mark in six starts while in
foal.
“She had a tendon problem, so
we gave her time off, and then bred her,” Servis said. “She came back to the
races in August of 2002, and won two races and had two seconds. She was
special.”
Ever Always will have Elvis
Trujillo aboard again Saturday as she tries for a fifth career win. Servis said
that 10 percent of her earnings will be donated by the Drazin family to the Blair Academy.
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