Rosalind Breaks Through in Sheepshead Bay

Bethlehem Stables, Michael Dubb, and Highclere America's Rosalind snapped a six-race losing streak when she held off the late run of Maximova to take the $200,000 Sheepshead Bay Stakes (gr. IIT) at Belmont Park May 2 .

It was the second graded-stakes score for the 4-year-old Broken Vow   filly who captured the 2014 Central Bank Ashland Stakes (gr. I) at Keeneland on Polytrack last year.

Racing in third throughout in the compact field of five, Rosalind grabbed the lead from the tiring pacesetter Beauty Parlor turning for home before holding off Maximova to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths under jockey Joe Bravo.

"It was a great trip," Bravo said. "We expected her to be a little further off the pace, but when they're going that slow and easy, she seemed like she was in fill control the whole race. There were some nice fillies in there and she pulled away from them.

It was another half-length back to Selenite, who got up for third over Riposte while Beauty Parlor, the 6-5 favorite, weakened to last after setting a slow pace of :50.83 for the half-mile and 1:15.36 for six furlongs.

The chestnut filly covered the 1 3/8 miles in 2:14.73 on Belmont's inner-turf course that was labeled firm. She returned $9.20 to win, $4.50 to place and $4 to show. Maximova paid $7.10 to win and $4.80 to show, while Selenite returned $5.90 to show.

 "Joe rode a terrific race," trainer Chad Brown said. "We had a plan leaving the paddock and I filled him in with a little about what we see in this horse, and he took that information and executed it perfectly. I'm so proud of the horse, she did all the work."

After breaking her maiden on the grass in her debut Aug. 2, 2013, at Ellis Park, Rosalind dropped her next five starts before dead-heating for the win with Room Service in the Ashland, seven lengths ahead of the rest of the pack. A month later she finished fourth in the May 2 Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) before making an ambitious trip across the Atlantic Ocean to race at Ascot in the group I Coronation Stakes June 20; she didn't finish after unseating rider Kieren Fallon.

She returned to the United States and finished off the board in both the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (gr. I) July 5 and the Pin Oak Valley View Stakes (gr. III) at Keeneland Oct. 17 and was put away for the rest of 2014 before being sold for $1 million at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky 2014 November sale.

Bred in Kentucky by Hurstland Farm, James H. Greene Jr., and Pin Oak Stud, Rosalind was transferred to the barn of Brown after the purchase and finished second in the Suwannee River Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Gulfstream Park Feb. 7. She then finished fifth in the Santa Ana Stakes (gr. IIT) March 15 at Santa Anita Park.

"We've run her three times since she's come in the barn," Brown said. "She had two really good starts. She didn't really handle the trip to California last time. The report from the jockey was just that she was very quiet in the post parade.

"As you can see she had some pre-race antics in the paddock. She's really a little difficult in the paddock and high strung, and for her to be that quiet in California it must have been the ship. I'm not sure where we'll go from here, but I'll speak to the ownership group about it and we'll plan something."

Rosalind now has won three of 14 career starts with earnings of $757,164.