Faith in Miss Marissa Pays Off in Black-Eyed Susan
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Miss Marissa holds off Bonny South to win the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico Race Course
Owner Alfonso Cammarota's faith in Miss Marissa—a 10-1 shot in the $250,000 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) at Pimlico Race Course—was rewarded Oct. 3 when the He's Had Enough filly held off favored Bonny South by a neck to earn her first graded stakes score with a determined effort.
"This is my biggest win," Cammarota said. "I knew she was going to win. I do a lot of background on the horses when I buy them. I buy the horses personally. I do a lot of background on the siblings. Her mother won a race at a mile and a quarter, and I knew she was going to be good. She proved it today. My research paid off."
Tracking along in second under jockey Daniel Centeno as Mizzen Beau set a sensible pace of :23.10 for the opening quarter and :46.61 for the half in the 1 1/8-mile test, Miss Marissa soon took over through three-quarters in 1:10.74 while 4-5 choice Bonny South mounted her bid from the rear of a 10-horse field.
Centeno set Miss Marissa down for the drive through the lane, and the duo found the wire in the nick of time, in a final time of 1:48.08 on a fast track.
"The plan was to try to break sharp, get a good position, and try to go easily from there," Centeno said. "If someone tried to go to the lead, we wanted to make sure that we were very close and make sure that she was really comfortable. She broke really sharp. I saw the inside horse go and I let her go. She sat off her practically all the way around. When I asked her, she responded very well to the end."
Bonny South rallied with great momentum under Florent Geroux but was unable to make up enough ground to catch the winner.
"(With) horses that are deep closers, sometimes you need some luck," Geroux said. "She ran a great race. She finished the fastest. Today, we couldn't catch the winner."
Second to Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Swiss Skydiver in the Aug. 15 Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, Bonny South finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Hopeful Growth in third. It was two lengths back to Mizzen Beau in fourth, followed by Dream Marie, Project Whiskey, Sharp Starr, Truth Hurts, grade 1 winner Perfect Alibi, and So Darn Hot. Landing Zone was scratched.
Miss Marissa extended her win streak to three races, coming in off an Aug. 13 allowance-level score at Saratoga on the back of a July 11 allowance event at Monmouth Park. Her best previous finish in stakes company for trainer Jim Ryerson was a third in the Jan. 20 Ruthless Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack.
"She's fairly fast," Ryerson said. "The fractions are going to be fast with her up near the lead, so I wasn't too concerned (with the early fractions). She ran great.
"Last year I thought she wanted two turns, and she made a liar out of me. It was ugly. But (this year) ever since we got a two-turn race at Monmouth, she just moved forward in the race we got in at Saratoga. It was a small field, but there were some nice horses in there. She ran fast, and then you look for a tougher spot. She answered today."
Miss Marissa improved her record to 4-2-1 from 12 starts with earnings of $323,690. She was bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds out of the winning Arch mare Ardara, who has produced three winners from three foals to race. Ardara has a 2-year-old filly by Mark Valeski named Markup, produced a Cupid filly in 2019, and foaled a Collected filly this year. She was bred to Mitole for 2021.
First run in 1919 as the Pimlico Oaks, the Black-Eyed Susan was renamed in 1952 to honor Maryland's state flower. The race was originally scheduled for May 15 in its traditional spot on Preakness eve, but both races were subsequently rescheduled amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic with the Black-Eyed Susan repositioned on the Preakness undercard.
Video: George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2)
Wicked Whisper Wins Miss Preakness
Coming off the rail and splitting rivals, Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Wicked Whisper got a hard-fought win over Ain't No Elmers in the Oct. 3 Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) at Pimlico Race Course. The chestnut Liam's Map filly ran the six furlongs in 1:10.36 under Joe Bravo.
Off the pace set by Ain't No Elmers and outsider Fly On Angel early, Wicked Whisper saved ground following splits of :23.08 and :45.78. She finished a length in front as the 5-1 third choice. Odds-on Mundaye Call was fourth behind Sound Machine.
Wicked Whisper (outside) en route to victory over Ain't No Elmers in the Miss Preakness Stakes
The winner of last fall's Frizette Stakes (G1), Wicked Whisper was making just her third start of the year and entered off a second in the Aug. 28 Charles Town Oaks (G3). She has a 3-1-0 mark in six starts and has earned $463,000.
"Her season was definitely interrupted by this year's racing calendar," winning trainer Steve Asmussen said. "She was getting ready a little late for things and with the cancellations we got off track. It's beautiful to see her show the quality she's always had. There are big things in her future."
The winner, bred in Kentucky by Siena Farms, is out of the Siena-bred Zayanna, by Bernardini . The Lieblongs paid $500,000 for her at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.