NEWS
Mary’s Follies wins Mrs. Revere in record time
Posted: Saturday, November 14, 2009 6:46 PM
MARY'S FOLLIES
Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
To view the Mrs. Revere Stakes, click here.
by Myra Lewyn
Mary’s Follies’ experience on turf may be short but her record on grass remained perfect after she scored a clear and convincing victory in the $206,500 Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2) on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Sent off at 9.40-to-1 odds in the competitive field of 14 three-year-old fillies, Mary’s Follies was making only her second career turf start. She adeptly handled her return to the surface after two main track starts, however, by winning in stakes-record time.
With Kent Desormeaux at the reins, Mary’s Follies stalked pacesetter War Kill from third on the rail, angled out, and challenged for command with a quarter-mile to run. Mary’s Follies then spurted clear of third-place finisher Romacaca to score a 1½-length win.
Mary’s Follies comfortably held back hard-charging runner-up Keertana while covering 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in 1:41.73, more than a second quicker than the previous stakes mark of 1:42.86 set by Snow Dance in 2001.
“When I was in the paddock before the race I was told that I had a loaded gun underneath me,” Desormeaux said. “All I had to do was aim and pull the trigger. She [Mary’s Follies] put me into a great position. She broke very smart and put us into a very energetic spot, and that set us up very well for the rest of the trip.
“She was really full of run when crossing under the wire today. She was really breathing fire today. This one really seems to have found herself on the turf. We beat a very good bunch of proven horses. She is just a very nice filly.”
Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1) winner Hot Cha Cha, the 2.20-to-1 favorite, steadily advanced from tenth at the half-mile pole and was closing ground in the stretch but could get no closer than fourth. Garden City Stakes (G1) winner Miss World, fourth in the QEII Challenge Cup, was never a factor and finished seventh.
Mary’s Follies, who has finished off the board just once in nine career starts, won her turf debut this summer at Monmouth Park, scoring a half-length win over Kiawah Cat in the 1 1/16-mile Boiling Springs Stakes (G3) on turf rated as good when trained by John Forbes for a partnership.
Purchased afterward by Paul Pompa Jr. and sent to trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., the More Than Ready filly subsequently finished second to Be Fair in the off-the-turf Lake George Stakes (G3) on July 31 at Saratoga Race Course and then sixth in the Fitz Dixon Cotillion Stakes (G2) on October 3 at Philadelphia Park in her previous start.
Mary’s Follies, who is out of the Miswaki mare Catch the Queen, has won four her nine starts this season and finished second three times. The $116,509 winner’s share of the Mrs. Revere purse boosted her lifetime bankroll to $317,889.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Myra Lewyn is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
