NEWS
Rutherienne regains winning form in Nassau Stakes
Posted: Saturday, May 30, 2009 6:50 PM
RUTHERIENNE
Michael Burns photo
To view the Nassau Stakes, click here.
by Ron Parker
Virginia Kraft Payson’s homebred Rutherienne made her first trip to Canada a winning one as she split horses in the stretch and drove to a three-length victory in the $276,325 Nassau Stakes (Can-G2) on Saturday at Woodbine.
The five-year-old Pulpit mare ended a seven-race winless stretch dating to a neck victory in April 2008 in the Jenny Wiley Stakes (G2) at Keeneland Race Course.
Rutherienne performed well against top competition following the Jenny Wiley win, posting six consecutive third-place finishes in graded stakes before returning to Keeneland in her previous start and finishing second to champion Forever Together in this year’s Jenny Wiley.
Rutherienne was sent off as the 4-to-5 favorite in the nine-horse field for the 1 1/16-mile Nassau, with Canada’s 2008 champion turf female, Callwood Dancer (Ire), the second betting choice at 4.25-to-1.
Alan Garcia, who rode Rutherienne for the first time in this year’s Jenny Wiley, settled her into fourth early. She moved into third behind dueling leaders Remarkable Remy and Meadow Saffron, who covered a half-mile in :48.59 and six furlongs in 1:12.21.
Rutherienne started her bid in the stretch, but she was checked briefly in traffic by Garcia before a hole opened up. Rutherienne closed willingly from between horses to take the lead and pulled away late for the clear victory.
“On paper, there wasn’t too much speed in the race,” Garcia said. “My filly was comfortable where she was. I wanted to be patient until the top of the stretch. It’s a long stretch and the last quarter, I was looking for room. Then it opened up a little bit and I had a small opening. I wanted to take advantage. She went in there and she kept on going.”
Callwood Dancer was boxed in under Eurico Da Silva in the stretch but found running room near the sixteenth pole and finished second, three-quarters of a length in front of Meadow Saffron.
Trained by Christophe Clement, Rutherienne completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.89 on turf rated as good.
Bred in Kentucky out of the stakes-winning Rahy mare Ruthian, Rutherienne eclipsed the $1-million plateau in career earnings with the win as she has now bankrolled $1,126,471 with ten wins from 19 career starts. It was her eighth stakes victory, including six graded stakes wins.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
To view the Nassau Stakes, click here.
Ron Parker is a THOROUGHBRED TIMES contributing writer
