Beautiful Memories Seeks Better Family Luck in Spinaway
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Photo: Coady Photography
Beautiful Memories scores on debut at Churchill Downs
As trainer Mark Casse watched the opening-day Schuylerville Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course, he experienced some bad memories.
A year earlier at the Spa, he sent out John Oxley's undefeated Super Comet in the Amsterdam Stakes (G2), a race in which the homebred son of Super Saver out of the Sky Mesa mare Sky Dreamer stumbled badly at the start. Super Comet fell to his face, and though he recovered his footing, he could do no better than fourth in what was the third and final race of his career.
Fast-forward to July 16, when Super Comet's half sister by Hard Spun , Beautiful Memories, entered the starting gate for the Schuylerville. Owned by Oxley and trained by Casse, she was the 1-2 favorite in the six-furlong stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
Everything was going along perfectly. Then the starting gates opened.
Like her half brother in the Amsterdam, Beautiful Memories stumbled at the break and generated something 180 degrees removed from her name.
"I couldn't believe almost the exact same thing happened to the brother and the sister at Saratoga," Casse said.
This time, however, jockey Jose Ortiz sensed something was amiss and wisely pulled up Beautiful Memories before the race was complete to protect the filly, and she came out of the ordeal with nothing more than a loss on her résumé.
"Jose thought maybe she hurt herself, so after letting her go for a bit, he decided to take the safe route and ease her up," Casse said. "She didn't want any part of that. She wanted to keep going. But he eased her up, and I appreciate that. We ran a bunch of different tests on her, and she was fine."
With that clean bill of health, Casse and Ortiz will hope that lightning only strikes twice as Beautiful Memories will return to the Spa Sept. 6 for the $250,000 Spinaway Stakes (G1), where she will face five other 2-year-old fillies.
Like other races for juveniles this year in New York, the diuretic Lasix is not permitted.
To prepare her for the seven-furlong race, Casse had Beautiful Memories work from the starting gate Aug. 20 with Ortiz in the saddle. Her final time of :59.59, the fourth-fastest of 25 works at the distance, reflects how smoothly it went.
"She breezed exceptionally well. I wanted to give her a good experience from the gate after the bad experience the last time," Casse said. "I think a lot of her. I wasn't surprised by her dominance in her first start, and hopefully she can regain that form Sunday. If she does, she'll be tough to beat. It was unfortunate what happened last time, but thankfully she's fine and we're ready to try again."
Beautiful Memories' May 28 debut at Churchill Downs was a dazzler that came as no surprise to the betting public. Sent off as the 2-5 favorite, she romped by 10 lengths in the five-furlong test, leading to her minuscule price on the tote board at the Spa.
She became the fourth foal from Sky Dreaming to race and the fourth winner from her dam, who also produced group 2 winner Kimbear (by Temple City ) and an unraced Violence weanling colt.
The field includes two maidens and also features Esplanande, an undefeated Daredevil Ohio-bred owned by WinStar Farm, Timothy Hamm, and Michael Lewis and trained by Hamm; and maiden winners Irish Constitution, a daughter of Constitution trained by Raymond Handal for Perrine Time Thoroughbreds and West Paces Racing; and Lady Lilly, a Nyquist filly owned by Phoenix Thoroughbreds and trained by Steve Asmussen.
Saratoga Race Course, Sunday, September 06, 2020, Race 9Entries: Spinaway S. (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Irish Constitution (NY)
Dylan Davis
120
Raymond Handal
8/1
2
2Vequist (KY)
Luis Saez
118
Robert E. Reid, Jr.
6/1
3
3Lady Lilly (KY)
Joel Rosario
120
Steven M. Asmussen
7/2
4
4Esplanande (OH)
Junior Alvarado
122
Timothy E. Hamm
4/1
5
5Beautiful Memories (KY)
Jose L. Ortiz
120
Mark E. Casse
9/5
6
6Guana Cay (KY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
118
Wesley A. Ward
3/1
