Undefeated Break Even Returns to Dirt in Prioress
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Photo: Coady Photography
Break Even soars clear in the Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs
After winning the July 14 Coronation Cup Stakes sprinting on the turf at Saratoga Race Course, undefeated Break Even will return to the dirt for her second start of the meet, the $250,000 Prioress Stakes (G2) Aug. 31.
Klein Racing's Break Even secured her sixth win in as many starts when trainer Brad Cox sent her over the turf for the first time in the Coronation Cup, which marked her fourth straight stakes win, a stretch that includes a 5 1/2-length victory in the May 3 Eight Belles Stakes presented by Derby City Gaming (G2) at Churchill Downs.
"It appears that looking at her past performances that she's very versatile and that she'll run on anything at any distance," owner Richard Klein said. "On paper we'll be the favorite, but I'm always worried about anyone in the race because anyone can win on any given day.
"From the reports I'm getting she's put on more weight and has been training great," Klein added. "We've had her up there since last Tuesday and Brad's assistant (Dustin Dugas) said she couldn't be doing any better. As long as she gets the clean break and runs her race, she'll be right there near the front end. This is a new venture running her on the dirt at Saratoga."
Not only has Break Even won all six of her starts, she's led at every point of call in five of those. In an allowance-level win Jan. 28 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, she tracked in second early before drawing off in the stretch for a 4 1/4-length score.
A homebred for Richard and Bert Klein, Break Even is out of the Saint Ballado mare Exotic Wager, who has produced five winners, including stakes-placed Hey Bro. With $424,900 in earnings, she is the leading earner for sire Country Day.
"He was a horse that we bred out of our good mare (graded stakes winner) Hidden Assets, who has had nothing but winners," Klein said of the stallion, who stands for $2,000 at Peach Lane Farms in Louisiana. "Country Day won stakes on three different surfaces. I always wanted to make him a stallion because he's by Speightstown. He's named after the school my two kids went to (Kentucky Country Day). Everyone always associated the horse with us."
Saturday's field of six 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs is plenty familiar with the winner's circle. Four enter off victories, including Ghost Hollow Farm homebred Risky Mandate, who makes her stakes debut for trainer Tom Amoss after rolling to a maiden win at Churchill and an allowance victory at Saratoga.
Amoss is hopeful someone will go with Break Even in the opening stages.
"It's never a good feeling in a small field to see one horse control everything, but that won't change our game plan," Amoss said. "We're going to run our race and see what happens. She's trained very well over the track.
"She's a physically imposing horse. Even going back to watching her train in her 2-year-old year, she's always been straight quality."
Also entered off wins are stakes-placed New York-bred Kept True, who enters off a pair of state-bred allowance-level races, and Break Curfew, who won a 6 1/2-furlong claiming race Aug. 17 at Saratoga where she was claimed for $75,000 by trainer Steve Asmussen for owner Toby Sheets.
The two fillies who did not win their previous starts are South of France, who enters off a runner-up finish in an allowance-level race but before that won three straight races topped by the Tepin Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, and likely second choice Royal Charlotte, who finished off the board in the Aug. 3 Longines Test Stakes (G1), snapping a four-race winning streak that included the Victory Ride Stakes (G3).
Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 31, 2019, Race 3Entries: Prioress S. (G2)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1South of France (KY)
John R. Velazquez
120
Todd A. Pletcher
20/1
2
2Risky Mandate (KY)
Jose L. Ortiz
118
Thomas M. Amoss
3/1
3
3Break Even (KY)
Shaun Bridgmohan
122
Brad H. Cox
1/2
4
4Break Curfew (KY)
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
118
Steven M. Asmussen
20/1
5
5Royal Charlotte (KY)
Javier Castellano
122
Chad C. Brown
4/1
6
6Kept True (NY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
120
Leah Gyarmati
15/1
