Sophomore filly Pomeroys Pistol easily dispatched
her older rivals in the Grade 2, $150,000 Foxwoods Gallant Bloom Handicap,
giving jockey Javier Castellano his fourth of five wins on Saturday at Belmont
Park.
Exiting consecutive runner-up efforts in
Grade 1 races against 3-year-olds, Pomeroys Pistol was kept in the clear early
by Castellano as she raced in second through an opening quarter in 22.15
seconds. She claimed the lead following a half in 45.02 and widened her margin
in the stretch to register a four-length victory as Tamarind Hall gave vain
chase in second.
“The filly is really strong.
She’s so big and talented,” said Castellano. “The way the
race unfolded, she put herself in good position, which helped me a lot, and
when I asked her she took off. Very nice filly, and very impressive first time
against older fillies.”
The final time for 6 ½ furlongs was
1:16.60, with Pomeroys Pistol returning $6.10 for a $2 win wager as the 2-1
second choice.
Pomeroys Pistol will now be pointed toward
a start in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on November
4 at Churchill Downs, according to her owner and trainer, Amy Tarrant.
“I thought she was absolutely awesome,” said Tarrant.
“It was the best result we could possibly expect: it wasn’t by a
nose, it wasn’t by a head. She pretty much dominated, I think, in the
race. We’re very excited about it, and now she is going to go home for a
nice rest and we’re going to be looking towards the Breeders’ Cup for
her. We’ll be staying at Monmouth and shipping out to Kentucky on [October 31].”
Pomeroys Pistol, who was second in both
the Prioress in June at Belmont and the Test in August at Saratoga, has now won
two graded stakes, having taken the Grade 2 Forward Gal in January at
Gulfstream Park. Bred in Florida
by Hardacre Farm, the daughter of Pomeroy is 4-3-2 in 11 starts and has earned
$450,178, including the $90,000 winner’s share of the Foxwoods Gallant
Bloom purse.
Lovely Lil was third, followed home by
Moontune Missy, favored Tar Heel Mom, and Buckleupbuttercup.
The five-win day solidified
Castellano’s lead in the Belmont
fall meet standings, with the rider maintaining a 17-10 edge over second-place
rider David Cohen.
After winning race 2 with Spring to the
Sky ($8.90) and earning a second triumph in race 6, the Noble Nashua overnight
stakes for New York-breds, with Johannesburg Smile ($5.40), Castellano swept the
final three races aboard Flying Train ($8.30) in race 8, Pomeroys Pistol in
race 9, and System Ready ($6.40) in race 10. The all-Castellano late Pick 3 returned
$106 for a $2 wager.
“It was a great day,” said Castellano. “Thank God
everything is going the right way. I am very blessed and very appreciative for
all the trainers to give me the opportunity. I never rode for [Amy Tarrant]
before, but today we had very good success.”