Photo: NYRA - Adam Coglianese
Parting Words had something to say Sunday on
the Aqueduct turf, coming from off the pace to break her maiden and join the
New York Watch, which profiles up-and-comers that have recently cleared the
maiden ranks at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course.
Making her second start, Parting Words veered outward at the break,
bumping a rival to her right. She settled into a clear spot in eighth and was
kept outside by jockey Ramon Dominguez along the backstretch run, split horses
while making smooth headway with two furlongs left, and grabbed the lead from
runner-up Celestial Kitten at the sixteenth pole to prevail by a length.
“She broke crooked and banged around with a couple of horses and
they usually they don’t overcome something that severe, but she overcame
all that and showed a lot of class,” said winning trainer Barclay Tagg.
Parting Words, the 7-2 third choice, ran the 1 1/16-mile distance in
1:45.49, completing the final furlong in 5.88 seconds.
In her lone previous effort, a turf event at Saratoga on August 27 that has produced two
other next-out winners, Parting Words finished fourth after racing three wide
on both turns.
“She broke a little slow and got hung wide the entire way, and it
was hard to judge her off that,” said Tagg. “But apparently her
number was pretty good, so we had hopes for her. We had a couple of small
setbacks with her and we couldn’t get her back into a race. It’s
been a long stretch between starts, but she proved our feelings today.”
Parting Words, from the first crop of 2005 Breeders’ Cup Mile
winner Artie Schiller, was acquired privately by her owners, Roy and Gretchen
Jackson of Lael Stables, from her breeders, Hargus and Sandra Sexton. The
juvenile is a half-sister to I Love Silver, a listed stakes winner who finished
third in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 1 Malibu; The Max, a two-time
black-type winner at Assiniboia Downs; and graded stakes-placed runners Chosen
Chief and Maximus Ruler.