By Alan Carasso
Reigning Eclipse Award-winning female sprinter Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) made light work of four rivals to make a successful return to the races in Saturday's GI Madison S. at Keeneland, the site of her victory in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.
Eased back off an early duel between Yuugiri (Shackleford) and Society (Gun Runner), the prohibitive 1-4 chalk was steered out into the three path to deliver her challenge and made the front under an Irad Ortiz, Jr. hold a good five-sixteenths of a mile from home. Asked to win her race in upper stretch, Goodnight Olive rolled down towards the inner rail as Maryquitecontrary (First Dude) tried to make it a contest, but the champion remained well clear and reported home a comfortable winner.
“She always breaks good. I talked to [trainer Chad Brown and said] I wanted a good pace in front of me,” the winning jockey said. “She can go either to the lead or come from off the pace. I saw they had more speed than me, but I know the first couple jumps she's going to break good. So I let them go to get a strong pace in front of me, so I would be able to take back without fighting too much and get in the clear earlier. It worked out perfect. I sat right behind the speed, let her do her thing, and she did the rest.”
A runner-up on debut just over two years ago, Goodnight Olive took a pair of late-season starts at three before going missing for seven months. After posting a pair of low-odds allowance wins at Belmont and Saratoga last summer, she recorded a 2 3/4-length romp in the GI Ballerina H. at the Spa Aug. 28 and overwhelmed her rivals to lock up the Eclipse with a 2 1/2-length success in the Filly and Mare Sprint when last seen Nov. 5.
Pedigree Notes:
Goodnight Olive is the fourth winner of the Madison for Ghostzapper in its last 10 runnings (Judy the Beauty, 2014; and former Brown trainees Paulassilverlining, 2017; and Guarana, 2020).
Goodnight Olive is one of two winners from three to the races out of dual Grade III winner Salty Strike, who was acquired by the Stonestreet team for $800,000 at the Keeneland January Sale in 2013. A half-sister to the stakes-winning Salty Response (Cozzene) and to the stakes-placed dam of this year's Sanibel Island S. third Mohawk Trail (Pioneerof the Nile), Salty Strike is also the dam of the unraced Katie's Keepsake (Medaglia d'Oro), who was sold for $250,000 in foal to Ghostzapper at this year's Keeneland January Sale. Katie's Keepsake's 3-year-old daughter Fourth Street (Street Sense) broke her maiden at second asking at Golden Gate this February.
Saturday, Keeneland
MADISON S.-GI, $580,000, Keeneland, 4-8, 4yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:23.12, ft.
1–GOODNIGHT OLIVE, 123, m, 5, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Salty Strike (MGSW, $485,266), by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Lake Huron, by Salt Lake
3rd Dam: My Rainbow, by Lyphard
($170,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-First Row Partners and Team
Hanley; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Chad
Brown; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.. $372,000. Lifetime Record: Ch.
Female Sprinter, 8-7-1-0, $1,391,950. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Maryquitecontrary, 123, f, 4, by First Dude
1st Dam: Mary Kate 'n Kelly, by Mecke
2nd Dam: Boots 'n Jackie, by Major Moran
3rd Dam: Cherokee Ace, by Cherokee Fellow
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-R. G. Lundock (FL); T-Claude R.
McGaughey III. $100,000.
3–Society, 123, f, 4, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Etiquette, by Tapit
2nd Dam: Archduchess, by Pleasant Tap
3rd Dam: My Marchesa, by Stately Don
O/B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen. $60,000.
Margins: 1, 4 1/4, 5 3/4. Odds: 0.37, 8.06, 4.57.
Also Ran: Cocktail Moments, Yuugiri. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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