Got Stormy Nips Into Mystic in Franklin County Thriller

Got Stormy only led for one stride of the $150,000 Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland Oct. 9, but it was the stride that mattered. Closing furiously under Tyler Gaffalione, the 5-year-old mare nailed Into Mystic at the finish of the 5 1/2-furlong turf race, leaving her on a two-race winning streak heading into the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.

Which specific Breeders' Cup race remains to be seen, depending on the weather and course condition, winning trainer Mark Casse said. The daughter of Get Stormy  could go in the Turf Sprint (G1T) over the same trip or the FanDuel Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T) around two turns. 

Though the Gary Barber-owned mare was successful Friday, the race did not come easily, in contrast to her previous start in the Sept. 12 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint (G3T) at Kentucky Downs. That day when racing 6 1/2 furlongs on soft going, she comfortably overpowered her rivals, including Into Mystic, winning by 3 1/4 lengths.

Not as much distance in the Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes, the shortest race of her career, seemed to narrow her margin for error.

But she still found a way to win. Ninth after a quarter-mile, seven lengths off the pace as Jakarta shot to the lead with splits of :21.84 and :44.94, Got Stormy began to gain a bit with a wide rally around the turn. She had to pass six foes in the lane, and it took a final three-sixteenths that Trakus timed in a sparkling 16.75 for her to put her nose in front. 

Jakarta held third, a length behind Into Mystic, who had taken a midstretch lead after working her way out of traffic from a stalking position.

"She didn't get away the cleanest. I didn't want to rush her—I thought I'd just let her settle," Gaffalione said. "She was much the best here, so we'll come with our run. She really finished up nice. She's got some turn of foot. Whatever we throw at her, she keeps delivering. I just feel so privileged to be able to ride her."

The finish was so tight that both Casse and Into Mystic's trainer, Brendan Walsh, were uncertain of the result, leaving them to anxiously await the outcome of a photo finish for several minutes.

"I called Gary (Barber) and he was like, 'I think we got beat,'" Casse said in a telephone interview after the race. "She got shuffled back pretty good, and I was like, 'Oh, Tyler.' And then I kind of got excited because I knew when he wheeled her out she would come running. But that second-place horse was tough, she hung in there. She didn't give it up. But what a wonderful mare (Got Stormy) is. Unbelievable."

She finished in 1:02.33 on a course rated good amid dry afternoon conditions, about three-fifths of a second off Chris's Thunder's stakes-record time of 1:01.72 in 2000. She returned $3.80 to win.

Now Casse and Barber have a month to ponder Got Stormy's next race. Casse believes a tiring, wet course makes a race play longer. So firm ground might make the Mile hold more appeal for her ideal trip, and the Turf Sprint if the course is damp.

Got Stormy was second in last year's Mile on firm turf at Santa Anita Park, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Uni, who is pointed for a title defense

Bred in Kentucky by Mt. Joy Stables, Pope McLean, Marc McLean, and Pope McLean Jr., Got Stormy is out of the Malabar Gold mare Super Phoebe and is a half sister to stakes-placed Sky Gold. She was purchased for $45,000 by Alan Quartucci from Niall Brennan Stables' consignment to the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. 

She raced for Quartucci and trainer Lisa Lewis before she was bought privately in early 2018.

Got Stormy improved her record to 10-5-3 from 25 starts with almost $2 million in earnings.