Cozi Rosie kept Malibu Pier at bay to win the John C. Mabee Stakes by half a length.
Trained by veteran John Sadler for owners, Ann Moss and Jerome Moss, the 4-year-old filly, Cozi Rosie, was pushed to the fence under jockey Garrett Gomez and produced a special ride to place in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes with a purse of $250,000, on
grass, at Del Mar on 14 August, 2011.
Cozi Rosie wore blinkers for the first time with her racing equipment, which probably helped her win her third graded race after being sent at odds of 4 to 1.
The chestnut filly advanced into contention for jockey Garrett Gomez after closing in on the race. The filly came neck to neck with the speedy pace setter, Wasted Tears and the two kept battling it out, entering into the deep stretch.
Under the left handed urging of jockey Garrett Gomez, Cozi Rosie held off a late, late run by a good looking Malibu Pier and went on to win the race by a mere half length.
The champion filly clocked in a time of 1 minute and 47.69 seconds.
Cozi Rosie finished less than three seconds off the track record, which was set by Aragorn in 2006 when he established it in 1 minute and 44.79 seconds over at a distance of 1 1/8 miles.
For the first half mile, Garrett Gomez was trying to save ground and see how things shape up after holding off the pace to assess the position of the race, as well as to see how fast his filly is going and where the pair stands in the race.
Gomez expressed his views after the race that it was a good idea to save ground as it left the pair on a good spot at one point in the race, and that where the jockey asked for an effort from Cozi Rosie, she gave the jockey what he asked for.
It was a similar story back in 2008 but with a different horse as Garrett Gomez teamed up with trainer John Sadler to win the John C. Mabee Stakes back then with Black Mamba.
In 2008, the race was ranked as a Grade 1 race for mares and fillies and it used to be the final race for mares and fillies of the year, until the American Graded Stakes Committee striped it off to a Grade 2 event.
John Sadler said that the chestnut filly will be pointed towards the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon Stakes, run over at a distance of 1 ¼ miles held at Santa Anita as her next start, and if they win the race Cozi Rosie will start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare
Turf.
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