NEWS
Pacesetter Smokey Glacken clearly best in Floral Park
Posted: Saturday, September 17, 2005
Susan and John Moore's Smokey Glacken scored her second career graded stakes victory with a front-running performance in the $109,100 Floral Park Handicap (G3) on Saturday at Belmont Park.
Breaking from the outside post in the field of six, the four-year-old Forestry filly wasted no time overtaking the speedy Molto Vita, opening up a 1 1/2-length lead as she sped the first quarter of the six furlong contest in :22.07. Winning jockey John Velasquez kept Smokey Glacken to her task while stretch challenges from Lilah and Areek failed to seriously menace the winner, who crossed the wire two lengths in front in 1:10.26.
"I didn't want to change anything," said Velasquez. "I wanted to be on the lead, but I didn't want to rush her either. Nobody else wanted [the lead], so I let her go."
Areek held second over Baldomera, who just got up to nip Lilah by a neck for third.
Trained throughout her career by Jimmy Jerkens, Smokey Glacken last won a graded stakes when she closed out her juvenile campaign with a win in the Valley Stream Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct. Although she won a pair of stakes last year, graded wins eluded her. She opened this year unplaced at Belmont in both the Genuine Risk Handicap (G2) and Vagrancy Handicap (G2). Jerkens then took her to Saratoga and got a confidence building win in an allowance/optional claiming event on August 14 as a prep for the Floral Park.
Jerkens said he instructed Velasquez to let Smokey Glacken do as she pleased.
"I told Johnny not to discourage her; that if she wanted to go, let her go," Jerkens said. "Usually when Johnny looks around like he did at the top of the stretch, he has something left."
Jerkens said he would likely point Smokey Glacken toward the seven-furlong First Flight Handicap (G2) on October 30 at Belmont. The bay filly finished second to Bending Strings in last year's edition of the First Flight.
Bred in Kentucky by Jayeff "B" Stables, Smokey Glacken is out of the Magesterial mare Majesty's Crown. Smokey Glacken has won seven of 13 starts and earned $392,660 in three seasons.
See chart, courtesy of Equibase at
http://www.equibase.com
