Finite Keeps Win Streak Intact in Silverbulletday
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Photo: Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges Jr.
Finite holds off Tempers Rising to win the Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course
Finite gritted it out on the racetrack, then stood pretty as a picture in the winner's circle Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, where she galloped down the Road to the Kentucky Oaks with a victory in the $148,500 Silverbulletday Stakes.
The 3-year-old Munnings filly shook off the cobwebs in her first start since a victory in the Nov. 30 Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs and had to dig deep to get past game frontrunner Ursula through the stretch of the mile-and-70-yard event.
Ursula went straight to the front, clicking off fractions of :24.23 and :48.72 while jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. kept Finite in a stalking position third on the outside.
"She broke really good," Santana said. "I sat off the pace, and she relaxed very well and was really happy where we were."
Turning for home after three-quarters in 1:13.64, Finite engaged the leader and went to battle, inching ahead through a 1:38.73 mile and just holding off a late rally from Tempers Rising to secure the win by a neck. The final time was 1:42.73.
The score gave Finite 10 points for a total of 20 on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard, ranking third below Bast (34) and British Idiom (30).
"What an amazing filly. She's a fighter," Santana said.
Finite secured the 1,000th stakes victory for trainer Steve Asmussen, who joins D. Wayne Lukas and Todd Pletcher as the only conditioners in Thoroughbred racing history to reach that number.
"For us to reach this level, we feel like we're just tip of the iceberg with a bright future in front of us," Asmussen said.
Finite, bred in Kentucky by Winchell Thoroughbreds out of the stakes-winning Tapit mare Remit, built a four-race win streak dating to her Sept. 12 maiden score on the turf at Kentucky Downs. She races for Winchell Thoroughbreds, Thomas Reiman, William Dickson, and Debbie Easter.
"What a quality filly, another very special Winchell homebred," Asmussen said. "She has earned everything she's gotten. Everything we've asked for, she's answered. They had their chances at her, but somehow she kept in front, and we're very proud of her."
Remit, a full sister to graded winner and sire Tapiture , has produced two stakes winners. Reride (by Candy Ride ) won the Mine That Bird Derby and Big Drama Stakes in 2018. The mare has a 2-year-old Candy Ride filly and a Gun Runner yearling colt and was bred back to Gun Runner for 2020.
"It's extremely fitting that (the 1,000-win milestone) was done with a Winchell homebred," Asmussen noted. "Ron (Winchell's) father, Vern, employed my father before we were doing this professionally, and this filly went through my parents' training program before she came to me."
Easter selected Finite from Randy Miles' consignment to the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and went to $200,000 to bring the filly home. Finite has four wins and two seconds from six starts, with earnings of $458,349.