MUCH
By Ashley Herriman
ELMONT, N.Y. – Unleashing a powerful late run through the stretch, Lady Shakespeare came from last to first to win the 67th running of the Grade 2, $150,000 New York at Belmont Park Saturday afternoon.
Bringing up the rear as Daveron led through early fractions of 24.23 and 48.96, Lady Shakespeare remained last of four through a mile in 1:35.57. Asked to pick up the pace turning for home, she seized the lead leaving the sixteenth pole and drew clear to win by 2¾ lengths.
Her final time for the 1¼ miles over
"She makes you work for it, but she earns it!" said winning jockey John Velazquez. "I just didn't want to be too far out of it with just three horses in front of me. I kind of had to start halfway through the backstretch just to make sure she didn't stay too far back. At the quarter pole, I hit her left handed and put her in the clear - it was like an instant reaction, she went right to them. She was so quick, I couldn't believe it. She got to the lead, her ears went up, and she knew what to do."
It was the second consecutive graded stakes win for Lady Shakespeare, a 4-year-old daughter of Theatrical, who captured the Grade 3 Bewitch at Keeneland on April 22. She now has two victories and two second-place finishes from four starts in stakes company this year, and boasts a lifetime record of 7-2-1 from twelve starts.
"She loves to run," said Sue Lorimer, assistant to winning trainer Roger Attfield. "She's kind of laid back early, but once she gets going she's all racehorse. Roger will see how she comes out of this race and go from there."
Lady Shakespeare, who races in the white, blue and yellow colors of owner and breeder Charles E. Fipke earned $90,000 for her
Changing Skies completed the exacta and Ave, another Attfield trainee, was third. Pacesetter Daveron faded to finish fourth. Gozzip Girl stumbled badly at the break and unseated jockey Ramon Dominguez at the start of the race. Both horse and rider walked off the course.
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