‘Princess’ plays spoiler in Crown sophomore filly trot eliminations
October 23, 2020, by Ray Cotolo, for the Breeders Crown
Anderson, IN — Spoiled Princess carved a path towards the lead and powered to the front in the final strides to score in the first $25,000 elimination for the Breeders Crown 3-year-old filly trot on Friday (Oct. 23) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
Sister Sledge slid to the lead from post five as Sorella rolled alongside and soon moved to the lead by a :26.4 opening quarter. Hypnotic AM, positioned third, pulled from the pylons to circle to the lead before a :57 half, seating Sorella into the pocket and shuffling Sister Sledge to third.
At that point, driver Dexter Dunn angled Spoiled Princess first-over from fifth and began marching towards Hypnotic AM trotting to three-quarters in 1:26.2. Off the turn, Spoiled Princess drew to equal terms with the leader and stuck a head in front charging for the finish, maintaining that margin in progress to a 1:53 victory over Hypnotic AM with Sorella finishing third. Rock Swan and May Baby round out the first-elimination finalists.
“She felt great sitting fifth there, and she felt even better when I moved her off the helmet and came first-over,” Dunn said after the race. “She’s really strong right now and she was good to the finish.”
Bred by Robert McNerney and Hauser Brothers Racing Entertainment LLC, Spoiled Princess collected her fifth win from 12 starts this season and her eighth from 21 overall, earning $171,136. Nancy Takter conditions the daughter of Trixton for owners Black Horse Racing and Christina Takter. She paid $7.40 to win.
Next Level Stuff lunged to the lead through the open stretch to take the other elimination for 3-year-old trotting fillies.
Whose Blues protected position from the pylon post to a :26.4 first quarter, but yielded for the pocket as Ab’sattitudexpress rolled towards the top approaching the backstretch. Next Level Stuff trotted third to a :58 half and raced locked at the pylons into the final turn as Caviart Eva pulled first-over but stalled.
Ab’sattitudexpress continued unchallenged to three-quarters in 1:26.4, but faced pressure as Whose Blues popped pocket straightening for the finish. Next Level Stuff had a seam to slide closer to the leader and, as Whose Blues went on a gallop, dove into the passing lane to take aim at the pacesetter late and edge by in the final strides of a 1:53.4 mile. Love A Good Story, the 3-2 favorite, rallied for third, while Caviart Eva and Crucial completed the finalists.
Winning her sixth race from 12 starts this season and her 12th from 22 overall, Next Level Stuff has banked $396,816 for owner-breeder Runthetable Stable. Tim Tetrick drove the Jim Campbell-trained Sebastian K S filly, who paid $6.00 to win.
