By Alan Carasso
Awesome Czech (Mendelssohn) became the fourth new stakes winner in the last 31 days for her Ashford-based stallion, pulling away to take Wednesday's Suzie O'Cain Stakes with a fair bit of authority.
Settled in fourth and detached from the leading trio that was led by commonly owned stablemate Red Burgundy (Noble Mission {GB}), Awesome Czech was patiently handled down the back before being asked for some acceleration leaving the three-furlong pole. Steered out three wide at the top of the lane by Manny Franco, Awesome Czech easily gathered up her 'mate' with a bit more than a sixteenth of a mile to travel and scooted clear. Brocknardini (Palace Malice) closed off well from the back of the field for second ahead of Munny Grab (Munnings) in third. The pacesetter weakened to fifth.
“I had a good set up in front of me,” the winning jockey commented. “They went fast and I was comfortable with where I was. As soon as I asked her to go, she was there so it was just a matter of time. She has a great turn of foot turning for home. She always tries for me. I have won three times on her now. I love her.”
A maiden winner at third asking when making her first turf start downstate last September, Awesome Czech closed her five-race campaign with a near-miss second against open rivals in the Nov. 17 Tepin Stakes at the Big A. Fifth off something of a hopeless trip in the June 22 Wild Applause Stakes, the bay most recently cleared her first state-bred allowance condition July 21, besting older rivals by a half-length.
Hailing from the deeper female family of the late and influential Bernardini, Awesome Czech has a 2-year-old half-sister named Rare Society (Central Banker) and a foal half-brother by Honest Mischief. Marvelous Martina was covered by Mendelssohn for her 2025 foal. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
SUZIE O'CAIN S., $125,000, Saratoga, 8-14, (S), 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:42.94, fm.
1–AWESOME CZECH, 120, f, 3, by Mendelssohn
1st Dam: Marvelous Martina, by Awesome Again
2nd Dam: Marvelous Margaret, by Put It Back
3rd Dam: Port Isabel, by Time to Explode
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Barry K Schwartz; B-Stonewall Farm (NY); T-Horacio De Paz; J-Manuel Franco. $68,750. Lifetime Record: 8-3-2-0, $223,530.
2–Brocknardini, 120, f, 3, Palace Malice–Broad Stripes, by Bernardini. ($20,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $35,000 2yo '23 EASMAY). O-Thomas & Daryn A Brockley; B-Thirty Year Farm (NY); T-George Weaver. $25,000.
3–Munny Grab, 118, f, 3, Munnings–Another World, by Maria's Mon. ($75,000 Ylg '22 SARAUG). O-Magic Cap Stables & Hayden Racing; B-EKQ Stables Corp (NY); T-Horacio De Paz. $15,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, HD, 3 1/4. Odds: 3.85, 3.35, 4.70.
Also Ran: Summer Whirl, Red Burgundy, Boxed Wine, Downtown Channel, Bossy Jeans. Scratched: Alette d'Oro, Landed.
AWESOME CZECH, 3YO daughter of @coolmoreamerica stallion Mendelssohn, surges for the win in the Suzie O'Cain Stakes under @jockeyfranco for @depazracing! pic.twitter.com/btVjv1rPdw
— NYRA (🎪) (@TheNYRA) August 14, 2024
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