Sugar Shock Takes American Beauty in Comeback
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On Cloud Nine's Sugar Shock proved two things Jan. 24 at Oaklawn Park as she came flying late to take the $100,000 American Beauty Stakes: She could be successful sprinting and could return a winner after seven months away from the track .
The 2014 Fantasy Stakes (gr. III) winner and 8-5 favorite in the American Beauty, Sugar Shock was content to settle behind the pace near mid-pack as Spring Included took control early through opening fractions of :21.68 and :46.04 for the first half mile.
Sugar Shock was forced to come seven wide into the stretch, but as soon as jockey Channing Hill called on her, she responded and caught the front-runner late for the victory by a half length. Haveyougoneaway was a head behind Spring Included in third.
The final time for the six furlongs was 1:11.62 over a fast track.
"When (Sugar Shock) got fanned out there and didn't really see anybody inside her, she kind of came off the bridle a little bit, but once I pointed her back down at her targets, she ran right at them," said Hill. "She went under the wire pretty easy for her. Obviously, it was pretty close, but I never felt like I was without horse.
"She showed you how special she is just by being able to go three-quarters off that long layoff and how good a job (trainer) Doug (Anderson) has done with her. Those horses weren't stopping, either, coming to the wire. She had to really turn it on from the eighth pole home. I'm really proud of her."
"We thought if they'd go ahead and push them a little bit on the front end, we could sit back just a little off it and make one run," added Anderson. "She's kind of special."
Sugar Shock, who paid $5.20 to win, has captured four of five starts at Oaklawn and five of 10 starts overall while improving her bankroll to $452,800. Anderson indicated after the race that the Candy Ride filly will likely return to longer races, mentioning the $300,000 Azeri Stakes (gr. II) March 14 at Oaklawn as a possibility.
Bred in Kentucky by Pam and Marty Wygod, Sugar Shock is out of the Distorted Humor mare Enthusiastically.