In a battle featuring a pair of Curlin daughters, it was Raging Sea (Curlin) who just held on over a hard-charging Julia Shining (Curlin) to pick up her first graded-stakes win Saturday in Aqueduct's GIII Comely S.
Talented as a juvenile, the Alpha Delta Stables homebred earned a pair of Grade I placings behind champion 2-year-old Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) last Fall in the GI Darley Alcibiades and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Dropped back into the allowance ranks when she finally resurfaced as a 3-year-old in August, Raging Sea picked up another placing at Saratoga Sept. 4 before finding the winner's circle again last time out at Keeneland over a sloppy track Oct. 20.
Drawn widest of the eight fillies Saturday, the 2-1 shot was able to angle down to be only two wide heading into the first turn as Ichiban (Street Sense) flashed speed from the rail and Julia Shining dropped back to trail. Racing in company with Honor D Lady (Honor Code) as the field strung out up the backstretch, Raging Sea began to inch up along the outside through a half in :48.74. As race favorite Defining Purpose (Cross Traffic) stuck a head in front turning for home, Raging Sea swung out four wide as the top group lined up with a quarter mile remaining. In a duel through the final furlong with Defining Purpose, the 2-1 shot fought off that rival and had to contend with a hard-charging Julia Shining in the shadow of the wire, just hanging on to pick up the victory.
“It's really nice to see her get that graded win,” said trainer Chad Brown. “It took her awhile to get her season going but we were all patient with her and I appreciate the patience from the owner, Jon Clay. He's a really good client of ours and a huge supporter of our stable. He always seems to send us a high percentage of stakes horses and he's a really wonderful man to train for. He bred this horse, so that's a good thing.”
Brown continued: “She's scheduled to race next year so we'll probably take her down south and map out a campaign for next year. She has no trouble getting the mile and an eighth. She can even get a mile and a quarter, if needed. She's a quite a nice filly and hopefully we have a complete year with her next year.”
RAGING SEA, daughter of @HillnDaleFarm stallion Curlin, battles for the win in the Comely Stakes (G3) under @jockeyfranco for Chad Brown! pic.twitter.com/Q7X72psDLr
— NYRA (🗽) (@TheNYRA) November 25, 2023
Pedigree Note:
Stormy Welcome, though unraced herself, brought $1.6m as a yearling out of the 2007 KEESEP sale before returning to the grounds to bring $600,000 as broodmare at KEENOV back in 2015. Along with Raging Sea, the daughter of Storm Cat has produced MSP Welcoming (Tapit). Third dam Weekend Surprise, 1992's broodmare of the year, is responsible for the likes of breed-shaping stallion and champion 3-year-old colt A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew) along with MGISW Summer Squall (Storm Bird) in addition to several other graded-stakes winning or placed runners out of her 14 foals. Stormy Welcome has an unraced 2-year-old, Wrath of the Storm (Twirling Candy) and a weanling City of Light filly. She failed to take on a Curlin cover for 2024.
Saturday, Aqueduct
COMELY S.-GIII, $200,000, Aqueduct, 11-25, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:50.86, ft.
1–RAGING SEA, 118, f, 3, by Curlin
1st Dam: Stormy Welcome, by Storm Cat
2nd Dam: Welcome Surprise, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Weekend Surprise, by Secretariat
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($300,000
RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP). O/B-Alpha Delta Stables, LLC (KY); T-Chad
Brown; J-Manuel Franco. $110,000. Lifetime Record:
MGISP, 7-3-1-1, $464,628. *1/2 to Welcoming (Tapit), MSP,
$179,812. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report &
5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style
pedigree.
2–Julia Shining, 122, f, 3, Curlin–Dreaming of Julia, by A.P. Indy.
'TDN Rising Star'. O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet
Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $40,000.
3–Honor D Lady, 124, f, 3, Honor Code–Complicated, by Blame.
($70,000 RNA Wlg '20 KEENOV; $40,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP).
O-Final Furlong Farm and Madaket Stables LLC; B-William
Harrigan & Mike Pietrangelo (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr..
$24,000.
Margins: NO, 1 1/4, NK. Odds: 2.15, 6.40, 15.60.
Also Ran: Defining Purpose, Just Katherine, Ichiban. Scratched: Corningstone, Warrior's Ransom.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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