Quantum Miss showed sharp early speed and held
off a late charge from Coax Liberty to post a half-length success in the 19th
running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Cicada for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday at
Aqueduct Racetrack.
Looking to rebound off a fifth as the favorite in the Grade 3 Old Hat
at Gulfstream Park on January 5, Quantum Miss dueled
with Roman Treasure through an opening quarter of 22.49, began to sneak away
from that rival nearing the quarter-pole, and resisted a late bid from slow-starting
Coax Liberty.
“She went a little fast the first
part of the race,” said winning jockey Cornelio Velasquez. “I tried
to relax her, but she fought it too much. I had enough horse at the end.”
Quantum Miss, the 9-5 favorite in the
field of seven, returned $5.80 for a $2 win wager and completed six furlongs on
the inner track in 1:11.99.
“I was very impressed,” said
Tony Dutrow, who trains Quantum Miss for owner/breeder Daniel M. Ryan.
“She broke right on top, took the worst of it along the backstretch, and
held off what looked like a very good field.”
The Cicada was the second stakes victory
for Quantum Miss, victorious in the Mountain Stakes for Pennsylvania-breds at
Penn National on November 24. Overall, the daughter of Smoke Glacken is 3-0-1
from 5 starts with $150,750 in earnings, including the $60,000 winner’s
share of the Cicada purse.
Dutrow said Quantum Miss will likely remain
in sprints, with the Grade 1, six-furlong Prioress at Belmont Park
on Monday, July 4 serving as a long-range objective.
“Her performance [today] kind of
confirms what we thought all long: she’s a six-furlong filly,” said
Dutrow. “We’re thinking about eventually running her in the
Prioress, with something else in between.”
Dream wore down Roman Treasure to finish
third, with In Step, Wild About Sonny, and Full Moon Blues completing the order
of finish.