Christine Hayden’s Unspurned rallied determinedly down the lane to reel in Skylander Girl for a length score in Saturday’s $179,100 Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes, at Woodbine.
Trained by Roger Attfield, the four-year-old Lemon Drop Kid-Banga Ridge chestnut was making her seasonal debut off a pair of works at Keeneland and a good winter foundation at Payson Park in Florida.
It was the first graded stakes win for Unspurned who won the Bison City Stakes in a productive sophomore season that included a fifth-place finish in the Woodbine Oaks.
Executive Allure, from the outside post in a field of eight, set swift splits of :22.17 and :44.82 in the Whimsical, a six furlong ‘Poly’ event for fillies and mares, under constant pressure from Skylander Girl. Jockey Luis Contreras urged Skylander Girl into to the lead at the top of the lane, driving clear with a sixteenth of a mile to run, but Unspurned, under a patient Alan Garcia, angled out three-wide for the stretch run and would not be denied. Unspurned covered six furlongs in 1:09.18.
“I had a great trip. She broke well and we were in a good position all the way. For the last part (of the stretch run) I had to ask her to keep running, but she kicked very well,” said Garcia. “She made up a lot of ground and I was very pleased with the way she did it.”
Hayden also bred the winner of the day’s seventh race, Breaking Lucky, trained by Reade Baker for owner Gunpowder Farms. The Hayden family, including Hayden’s husband Jay and his father Charles were on hand for the graded stakes breakthrough.
“We were stunningly pleased. We’ve been waiting for a result like that for a long time. We got an awesome ride from Alan, exactly the way Roger (Attfield) conveyed it to him over the phone. Roger said to just sit off the speed and let them gas themselves out and give her a shot,” said Jay Hayden
The Hayden family could complete a nifty triactor for the day should Conquest Curlinate, bred by Charles Hayden, notch a victory in this evening’s Grade 3 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Park for trainer Mark Casse and owner Conquest Stables.
Unspurned banked $108,000 in victory while improving her record to 4-4-1 from 12 career starts.
She paid $11.40, $5 and $3.30, combining with Skylander Girl ($4.80, $3.40) for a $57.80 (3-6) exactor. A 3-6-8 triactor (Executive Allure, $3 to show) was worth $214.80, while a $1 Superfecta [3-6-8-2 (Wild Catomine)] came back $521.95.
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