Stopshoppingmaria shows connections she is ready to step-up in class after Gulfstream Park win
Decent record in Grade 1 races, Stopshoppingmaria made her third start since finishing second to winner Stephanie’s Kitten in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs in 2011. Trained by Todd Pletcher for Mike Repole’s Repole Stable, Stopshoppingmaria won the second race of her career at Gulfstream Park going 5 furlongs on 14 December, 2012.
It was an Allowance Optional Claimer on the venue’s turf course, and by far the 3-year-old filly by More Than Ready was the most accomplished in a field of 12 fillies and mares.
Ridden by jockey John Velazquez, Stopshoppingmaria stalked the leaders in fourth, and made up ground in the end to edge past them all. The winning pair made their move on the turn, and the sophomore filly responded gamely to win the race.
Heaven Knows What carved up early fractions in the five furlong race, but couldn’t stop the winner, as she finished second.
The 9-year-old veteran mare, Lady Rizzi, turned in a big effort in the end to fly in third, but she was beaten by a nose for second place by Heaven Knows What.
"I didn't want her to get caught in a speed duel early," the jockey said. "I just let her sit right behind the speed until the three-sixteenths pole, and she did what she had to do from there when it counted. I told Anthony (Sciametta, assistant to Pletcher) that I think she's come back better than ever."
Bred in Kentucky by Mueller Farms, Stopshoppingmaria, returned to racing in June 2012, after her second place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and participated in the Crank It Up Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Cut back in distance of five and one-half furlongs, Stopshoppingmaria didn’t show any signs of rust, and turned in a strong effort to finish second yet again to winner Jazzy Idea.
She then went to Saratoga in August to run in an allowance optional claimer over similar distance as the last one, but this time she couldn’t improve on her last attempt, instead she fell 3 places back to finish fifth.
Stopshoppingmaria is out of Skybox by Spend A Buck, and with her recent victory it will not be long until Todd Pletcher finds a graded stakes race for the filly.
Tags: