By Alan Carasso
Given an 18-5 chance to make amends for a disappointing sixth-place effort in Saratoga's GII Lake Placid Stakes Aug. 17, Godolphin's Beautiful Love (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) came with a barnstorming rally down the center of the Aqueduct turf course to take out Saturday's GIII Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes on Long Island.
Taken well in hand out of the gates by Dylan Davis, the homebred settled in about third-last position as Macanga (American Pharoah) was aggressively ridden by Lane Luzzi and opened up a big margin on her rivals through a half-mile in a very fast :47.21. Beautiful Love was quietly ridden down the back of the course and was even shuffled back to be last but one entering the last of the three turns, but Davis got busy at that point, and opted to produce his mount wide into the stretch. Macanga was still at the head of affairs, but the peloton began to draw closer, led by Justdeny (Justify) and Caldwell Luvs Gold (Goldencents). That duo dueled deep into the final furlong, but neither could resist the flying finish from Beautiful Love, who scored cozily in the end.
“There was [a lot to do turning for home]; it took a little bit from the three-eighths pole to get her into gear,” said Davis. “Once we got her into the stretch and into the clear, I started asking for some more from her and she responded really nicely. I wasn't even 100% on her, she got into gear maybe 80% and I just kept her in good rhythm to the wire. I knew that we had it done.”
Davis posted another victory on the card for trainer Bob Baffert, and reflected on piloting winners for two of the world's pre-eminent conditioners.
“Maybe it's a lot of the success from Saratoga carrying over. I just keep doing my job, my part out there,” he said. “That was my first ride for Baffert and I wanted to make sure to win and do my best out there for him. [My] second start for Appleby and man, that was a great feeling turning for home. She really excelled and got the job done. A really nice feeling to win the race and for the team.”
A maiden winner at third asking at Newmarket last September, Beautiful Love was fourth in the Listed Montrose Stakes at headquarters before heading to Dubai for the winter. Runner-up to her classy stablemate Cinderella's Dream (GB) (Shamardal) in the Feb. 2 Jumeirah Fillies Classic, she flew home to take a 1600-meter conditions race Feb. 16 and was not spotted again until the Lake Placid, where she raced wide and failed to land any sort of blow.
Pedigree Notes:
Beautiful Love is the 81st worldwide black-type winner and 42nd graded/group winner for Siyouni, while Dubawi was being represented by his 81st stakes winner as a broodmare sire, his 43rd at the graded/group level.
A Group 3 winner in France and a winner in listed company in Germany, Powder Snow is also the dam of Flying Honours, a Group 3-winning juvenile. Beautiful Love's third dam Snow Bride won the 1989 G1 Epsom Oaks–via disqualification–with Steve Cauthen in the irons and went on to an even more formidable career in the breeding shed, producing 1995 G1 Epsom Derby hero Lammtarra (Nijinsky II), GSW Saytarra (Seeking the Gold) and MSW Kammtarra (Zilzal). Snow Bride's half-brother Ibn Al Haitham (GB) (Zafonic) was second to Essence of Dubai (Pulpit) in the 2001 GII Norfolk Stakes on the dirt and won the grassy GIII Saranac Handicap at Saratoga the following season.
Beautiful Love is a half-sister to the 2-year-old colt Nordic Games (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a yearling colt by Kingman (GB) and a filly foal by Sea The Stars (Ire).
BEAUTIFUL LOVE wins the Grade 3 @FasigTiptonCo Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes under @DavisJockey for trainer Charlie Appleby and @godolphin. pic.twitter.com/c50HMzPloU
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) September 14, 2024
Saturday, Belmont The Big A
FASIG-TIPTON JOCKEY CLUB OAKS INVITATIONAL S.-GIII, $350,000, Belmont The Big A, 9-14, 3yo, f, 1 3/8mT, 2:15.28, fm.
1–BEAUTIFUL LOVE (IRE), 122, f, 3, by Siyouni (Fr)
1st Dam: Powder Snow (GSW-Fr, SW-Ger),
by Dubawi (Ire)
2nd Dam: Snow Ballerina (GB), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Snow Bride, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charles Appleby; J-Dylan Davis.
$192,500. Lifetime Record: 8-3-2-1, $266,698. *1/2 to Flying
Honours (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), GSW-Eng. Werk Nick
Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Justdeny, 122, f, 3, Justify–Moving Moon (Ire), by Galileo
(Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($175,000
Ylg '22 KEEJAN; $460,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-West Paces Racing
LLC, Pine Racing Stables and R. A. Hill Stable; B-Lakland Farm
(KY); T-Danny Gargan. $70,000.
3–Caldwell Luvs Gold, 122, f, 3, Goldencents–Snow, by Quality
Road. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($36,000 Wlg '21 FTNMIX;
$73,000 Ylg '22 SARAUG). O-Dicke Racing; B-Jeremiah
Desmond & Drumkenny Farm, LLC (NY); T-Brad H. Cox.
$42,000.
Margins: 1HF, NO, 3/4. Odds: 3.60, 7.60, 32.75.
Also Ran: Mont Saint Michel (Fr), Lady Madonna, Mixologist, Americandreammaker, Lady Mary (Ger), Macanga, Egyptian Candy. Scratched: Miss Roberts (GB).
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
