City to City recovers from her bad patch and prevails in the John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar
It was none other than the Jerry Hollendorfer trained, City to City, who crushed the competition and came out on top in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar on 12th August, 2012. The chestnut mare tried her best and it
showed when she stole the show by a small margin of a nose.
Running over the distance of 1 1/8 miles, the daughter of City Zip briskly completed the race in 1 minute and 46.50 seconds with rider Corey Nakatani, while being followed by All Star Heart in second, who finished 1 ½ length before Go Forth North.
The pace of the race was set by Go Forth North with the help of jockey David Flores. She led for quite some time as she briskly covered the opening quarter-mile in 23.57 seconds, half-mile in 47.09 seconds and six furlongs in 1 minute and 10.74 seconds.
The frontrunner was challenged by All Star Heart and Brice Blanc, where All Star Heart fought for the lead and got it near the sixteenth pole. This was the point when City to City made some ground on the outside and managed to succeed just in the nick
of time.
This victory has given the five-year-old an overall record of 8-5-5 in 29 starts and career earnings worth $679,726. This victory meant a great deal for the Kentucky bred mare, who failed to deliver in the last four starts.
After succeeding in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Handicap in February, 2012, she finished fourth in the Grade 2 Santa Ana Stakes, 7th in the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stake and 7th in the Grade 2
Royal Heroine Mile Stakes.
Regarding this victory, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer told the press:
"This was a really nice win for City to City and she deserves it, too. She's overcome a lot. She had a really severe injury two years ago here. I never thought she'd ever race again but she overcame it. And she's just been good ever since.”
The Hall of Fame trainer appreciated the rider’s effort as he added:
“Today (Nakatani's ride) was perfect. It couldn't have been any better."
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