The streaking On Leave made it four straight wins with a dominating front-running score for a career high here.
Coming in off an impressive tally going a mile while making her stakes debut in Saratoga's Riskaverse S. Aug. 25, the gray homebred was hammered down to 3-5 for this first try at nine furlongs.
Away well, On Leave made an easy lead, receiving only light pressure down the backstretch through splits of :24.94 and :49.86. Still under a good hold on the far turn, she was set down at the top of the lane and proved too much for them to handle in the stretch.
“She's on a roll now,” winning trainer Shug McGaughey said. “She's won four in a row and today was the first time she's been on the lead. Looking at the race, I thought it's where she might be. I told Jose [Ortiz], 'I don't want to be going too fast.' I thought he rode a great race. He asked her and she just took off with it.”
He continued, “The distance shouldn't be an issue. A lot of the War Fronts are better milers, but she handled it fine. I wouldn't want to run her any farther than that this year, but maybe next year we'll try and get her stretched out.”
As for what's next, McGaughey added, “If everything works out right, I'd love to run her at Keeneland in the [GI] Queen Elizabeth [II Challenge Cup Oct. 15]. Hopefully she came out of it fine and we'll go on to Keeneland and try things there.”
On Leave, on the board in a pair of well-backed attempts on the lawn as a juvenile last term, has been unbeatable since turning three. She graduated against older fillies and mares in a grassy maiden at Belmont June 9 and followed with an optional claiming tally in Elmont July 17 prior to her aforementioned score in the Riskaverse.
Pedigree Notes:
On Leave, a half-sister to four graded stakes winners, comes from the extremely productive dam Meghan's Joy, who was purchased by Stuart S. Janney III for $450,000 out of the 2001 Keeneland November sale. Her second dam is a half to MGSW/GISP Yell (A.P. Indy), MGSW Roar (Forty Niner) and GISW Eastern Echo (Damascus), while her third dam, MGSW/GISP Wild Applause (Northern Dancer), is a half to MGISW Sea Hero (Polish Navy), MGISW Hero's Honor (Northern Dancer) and MGSW Glowing Honor (Seattle Slew). On Leave is Meghan's Joy's most recent foal. She was bred to Distorted Humor this year.
Saturday, Belmont Park
SANDS POINT S.-GII, $500,000, BEL, 9-17, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:47.82, fm.
1–@ON LEAVE, 116, f, 3, by War Front
1st Dam: Meghan's Joy (MSP, $126,990), by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Queens Wild, by Spectacular Bid
3rd Dam: Wild Applause, by Northern Dancer
O/B-Stuart S. Janney, III (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III; J-Jose
L. Ortiz. $300,000. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-1, $481,300. *1/2 to
Minister's Joy (Deputy Minister), MGSP, $327,247; Hunting
(Coronado's Quest), GSW, $286,395; Quiet Harbor (Silver
Deputy), GSW, $274,670; Seal Cove (Stong Hope), MSW,
$261,700; Norumbega (Tiznow), GSW, $521,645; and Ironicus
(Distorted Humor), MGSW & GISP, $848,790. Werk Nick
Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″]2–Diamond Fields (Ire), 116, f, 3, Fastnet Rock (Aus)–Question
Times (GB), by Shamardal. (€55,000 Ylg '14 GOFORB). O-Mary
Slack; B-Sweetmans Bloodstock (IRE); T-Tommy Stack.
$100,000.[bullet ad=”irt-shell”]3–Tin Type Gal, 118, f, 3, Tapit–Miss Shop, by Deputy Minister.
O/B-My Meadowview Farm LLC (KY); T-H. Graham Motion.
$50,000.[bullet ad=”irt-shell”]Margins: 2 3/4, NK, HD. Odds: 0.75, 8.60, 5.10.
Also Ran: Al Jazi (Ire), Galileo's Song (Ire), Elysea's World (Ire). Scratched: Noble Beauty.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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