Change of Control Stretches Out, Wins Intercontinental
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Janet Garaguso
Change of Control wins the Intercontinental Stakes at Belmont Park
A seven-furlong turf race is a rather unusual test for any mare, yet for Change of Control it provided some dust covered memories.
Asked to handle seven furlongs on turf in the $194,000 Intercontinental Stakes (G3T) at Belmont Park, it marked the first time she had raced that far since December 2018 when she was sixth in a mile maiden race as a 2-year-old.
Much has happened since then and lately it's been quite a pleasant ride for the 5-year-old Fed Biz mare who brought a string of solid efforts into the Intercontinental and then rode off with the initial graded stakes win for her and jockey Colby Hernandez.
Handling the elongated sprint distance with aplomb, Change of Control rallied in the stretch to post a 1 1/2-length victory over Piedi Bianchi for trainer Michelle Lovell and owner Perry Harrison, who collected his first graded stakes win.
"She's really special. A real class act," Lovell said. "She's so much more mature this year. She's come into her own."
Change of Control wins the Intercontinental Stakes at Belmont Park
The Intercontinental marked the sixth 2021 start for Change of Control and produced her second win, joining a victory two starts ago in the 5 1/2-furlong Giant's Causeway Stakes at Keeneland. In those other four starts, she was second twice and third on two occasions, though none of those previous five starts in 2021 were longer than 5 1/2 furlongs.
"The seven-furlong distance was an unknown, but we weren't worried about it. She's never been tired after a race. We never got a chance to run her longer but she answered the question today. It was nice to see her settle into slow fractions and rally home like that," said Lovell, who registered her second graded stakes win and first since Fault won the 2017 Pucker Up Stakes (G3T). "We're excited to get a graded stakes win for her and now that opens some doors for her in races at different distances."
The win was the seventh in 27 starts for the daughter of the Quiet American mare America's Blossom, who was bred by John O'Meara and claimed by owner Roddy Harrison and trainer Lacey Gaudet for $50,000 out of her career debut in 2018. It pushed her earnings to $552,439.
She is the second foal and first stakes winner for America's Blossom, who has a yearling colt by Karakontie .
Four scratches reduced the field to five over the "good" turf course, with I'llhandalthecash setting the early fractions of :23.64 and :46.82.
When she tired in the stretch, Jay Oringer, Jack Bick, Al Bianchi Racing, Adam Bayroff, and Mike Maturo's Piedi Bianchi, who was second much of the way, forged to the front but could not hold off the late charge of Hernandez and Change of Control ($4.90), the 7-5 second choice who was third on the backstretch and covered the distance in 1:22.07.
For Hernandez, his first graded stakes win came in his first race at Belmont Park and in his 13,755th overall start and 2,284th victory.
"When she broke, she broke sharply. She left there well, and I had to get on her a little bit. After that, I was just able to sit on her. All I needed was daylight and she kicked on," Hernandez said. "It's my first graded stakes win and my first time riding here. It's an awesome feeling."
Piedi Bianchi, an Overanalyze mare trained by Carlos Martin, was 1 1/4 lengths in front of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, and Martin Schwartz's Madeleine Must , a Motivator mare.
Juddmonte's Publication , the 6-5 favorite, was fifth.