Team Valor International’s Summer Soiree took the lead
around the 5/8ths pole before drawing off to an impressive 6 ½ length win in
the $150,000 Boiling Springs Stakes as Check Point reported home a 2 ¾ length
winner in the $75,000 Lighthouse Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday.
Summer Soiree, making her first start on turf, returned
$9.40, $6 and $5.20 in the field of nine 3-year-old fillies after stepping the
mile and a sixteenth over “good” turf in 1:42 4/5. My Sunshine Gal rallied to complete the $89
exacta and paid $10.40 and $8.20. It was
a head back to Hessonite, who returned $6 to show.
“She’s a real handful around the barn in the morning,”
said winning trainer H. Graham Motion.
“When I saw her move to the lead early, I was a little worried, but I
guess for no reason. I was happy to see
her relax. Having sat off horses early
on is going to help her a lot down the road.”
Jockey Gabriel Saez, who’s been aboard for all 10 of
Summer Soiree’s starts, said: “I wanted
to sit off a couple of horses early on and see how she relaxes. After the first quarter mile I put her in the
clear and she wanted to go to the front.
I wasn’t going to fight her, just let her go on with it. She’s something special.”
The Grade 3 Boiling Springs victory was the second graded
stakes victory for Summer Soiree, who took the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks before
going on to race in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.
The daughter of War Front from the Mazel Trick mare Mazel Tov boosted
her record to 4-0-3, good for earnings of $221,680.
In the mile and a sixteenth Lighthouse Stakes, Richard
Santulli’s Check Point unleashed a powerful run around the far turn before
drawing off to victory in 1:43 flat over the fast main track.
Trained by Alan Goldberg, Check Point returned $11.20, $5
and $3.60 in the field of six fillies and mares. Pacesetter Debonair Darling completed the
$120.80 exacta and paid $8.80 and $4.20.
It was another length and a quarter back to Successful Song, who paid
$2.80 to show.
“I just saved ground around the first turn and at the
3/8ths pole asked her,” said winning rider C.H. Marquez Jr. “The leaders started coming back to us and
she just blew by them. That’s her
running style and everything worked out perfectly for her.”
The Lighthouse win was the seventh in 25 starts for Check
Point, a 5-year-old by Posse from the Rahy mare Turning Point. She has now earned $308,640 for her
connections.