Bell's the One Closes Strong to Take Honorable Miss
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Bell's the One (center) rallies to win the Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga Race Course
A last-to-first bid and wide trip down the stretch was not enough to stop Bell's the One from getting up in time to win the $200,000 Honorable Miss Handicap (G2) July 28 at Saratoga Race Course.
Lothenbach Stables' grade 1 winner trailed early in the six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares aged 3 and up, but dug in late under regular rider Corey Lanerie to nip Godolphin's Lake Avenue by a neck.
Trainer Neil Pessin was full of praise for his stable star.
"She's about as high-class a filly as you want. She gives it her all every time she runs," Pessin said. "Hopefully, now she'll get the accolades she deserves and people won't put her on the backburner when they talk about the sprint fillies."
Bell's the One broke through at the top level in September by nosing out Serengeti Empress in the Derby City Distaff Stakes Presented by Derby City Gaming (G1) at Churchill Downs. That victory was followed by a third in last fall's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) and a narrow second in the Madison (G1) to begin her 5-year-old year at Keeneland. The daughter of Majesticperfection was then fourth in this spring's Derby City Distaff before rebounding to win the June 19 Roxelana Overnight Stakes at Churchill.
In the Honorable Miss, Bell's the One broke from the outside post in a field of eight and trailed nearly seven lengths off the pace through the first quarter-mile. Ain't No Elmers set fractions of :22.80 and :45.85 through a half-mile up front with Honey I'm Good pressing her only a head back in second.
Lanerie had Bell's the One up into sixth with the last quarter-mile to run, two lengths behind Lake Avenue in fifth. The field spread out turning for home and Lanerie had to take his mount seven wide to find running room on the outside. Lake Avenue was moving strong under Junior Alvarado in the stretch and Bell's the One pulled up next to her as the two dueled toward the wire. Bell's the One got the jump on her rival in the end, completing the distance on the fast track in 1:09.83. She returned $3.80 on a $2 win ticket as the 4-5 favorite.
"I just let her run her race and when she got on her left lead on the turn, she said 'it's time to go' and started making up ground so easy," Lanerie said. "The 4 horse (Lake Avenue) actually put in more of a fight than I expected. I thought when I got to her, I was going to run away. But she wouldn't go away for a while; we were running home. This was a good race.
"She ran her own race today and I let her do it," Lanerie added on the winner. "It can get kind of scary at times, especially here at Saratoga. It's hard to win here."
Jockey Corey Lanerie and Bell's the One after their Honorable Miss Handicap victory
"It's been a hard track to close on today," Pessin said. "I think she's the only one that deep-closed any at all, but I thought she was also the best horse in the race coming in, and I feel that way coming out."
Lake Avenue was a game second and finished 2 3/4 lengths ahead of the pacesetter Ain't No Elmers. Truth Hurts , Miss Mosaic , Don't Call Me Mary , Reagan's Edge , and Honey I'm Good completed the order of finish. Sadie Lady was scratched.
Lothenbach Stables purchased Bell's the One for $155,000 in 2017 from Brereton Jones' consignment to The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected yearling sale in Kentucky. The mare now boasts $1,126,825 in earnings and has a 9-3-2 record from 19 starts.
Pessin said her next start will "probably" be the Oct. 9 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, which offers the winner a berth in the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar, before another shot at the World Championships.
"She's the best horse I've ever had, and I've been training for almost 40 years," Pessin said. "She's about as special as they come to me. I've got one other filly that I had in her category, Eden Prairie , that didn't do the races that this mare's won but she was all heart and tried every time. They're the two favorite horses I've ever had."
Bell's the One was bred in Kentucky by Bret Jones out of the Street Cry mare Street Mate, also dam of stakes-placed Running Mate . Street Mate's unnamed 2-year-old daughter by Cairo Prince was a $400,000 purchase by Rob Masiello at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and recorded a half-mile in :54.10 July 9 at Hunter Farm Training Center in Ocala, Fla. The mare foaled a filly by Collected in February and was reported bred to Not This Time for 2022.
Step Dancer Gets Up for NYSSS Win
Earlier on the card, Hayward Pressman, Donna Pressman, and Diamond M Stable's Step Dancer ran down pacesetter Dreamer's Disease to capture the $150,000 Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series.
The 3-year-old War Dancer colt was sixth early under jockey Dylan Davis and got up by a neck over Dreamer's Disease to complete a mile on the firm inner turf in 1:35.83. It's Gravy was another 4 3/4 lengths back in third.
Step Dancer wins the Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series at Saratoga
Barclay Tagg trains the winner ($4.90), who sports a 3-1-2 record from seven starts and has earned $219,800.
"I'd like to try him against open company again," Tagg said of last fall's Awad Stakes winner. "Maybe not the next race, but we'll see. He's definitely good enough."
Step Dancer, bred in New York by Sugar Plum Farm and Richard Pressman, is the lone foal out of the English Channel mare Just Be Steppin.
Video: Honorable Miss H. (G2)