Skims Turns Tables on Vergara in Sands Point
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher
Skims rolls home in the Sands Point Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack
Andrew Rosen's British homebred Skims broke through at graded level with an impressive one-length score under John Velazquez in the Oct. 15 $200,000 Sands Point Stakes (G2T) at the Belmont at the Big A.
Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, the Frankel filly made her fourth graded attempt a winning one with a powerful stalking performance, staving off returning rival Vergara , who had bested her by a head last out in the Sept. 5 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs.
Rosen made the final decision to run at the Big A instead of in Keeneland's Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1T), also run Saturday.
"It's amazing. It's good to have a plan and have it come together and work out the way it did," Rosen said. "He's (Frankel) really taken over, I think, as the best sire in the world. I was wondering when my Frankel was finally going to win a stake and it's exciting that it was today and I could be here."
Jockey John Velazquez (L) and Andrew Rosen
Hail To broke alertly and marked the opening quarter-mile in :25.44 over the good going in front of Lady Baffled , who made an aggressive move to sit outside the leader as the field turned into the backstretch.
Skims, who exited the inside post, moved into third position between the leaders as the half-mile ticked by in :50.91 and advanced with purpose into the final turn as Hail To and Lady Baffled gave way.
The ground-saving Vergara was angled outside of Hail To by Joel Rosario late in the turn and chased in vain from the top of the lane as Eminent Victor , who bobbled at the start, made her late run. But there was no catching an exuberant Skims, who bounded under the wire in a final time of 1:51.14 for the 1 1/8-miles on turf course rated as good.
Skims banked $110,000 in victory while improving her record to 9-3-1-2. She returned $11.20 for a $2 win ticket.
Vergara stayed on strong to complete the exacta by 1 1/4-lengths over Eminent Victor with Pizza Bianca , last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner, rallying wide to finish fourth in her first start since an off-the-board effort in the Coronation Stakes (G1) in June at Royal Ascot.
"One of the horses to beat (Vergara) sat inside, and I was not going to let them through in there—if he is going to follow, he'll have to follow me," Velazquez said. "So, the other horse started getting out and I let her run to close the hole, so that made the difference I think, instead of sitting there and letting the horse get through and then I'll be mad waiting there. So, I might as well take the chance when I had it."
McGaughey said Skims could come under consideration for the Dec. 26 $300,000 American Oaks (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.
"It's going long and that's what she wants to do. She wants to go a distance of ground," McGaughey said. "We might give her time, too, or take her to Florida and see what happens. We'll put our heads together, figure it out and see how she comes out of it."
Skims is out of the Street Cry mare Royal Decree, the dam of six winners from seven foals to race. A daughter of multiple grade 1 winning turf mare Ticker Tape , Royal Decree has also produced group 2 winner War Decree (War Front ) and stakes-placed Noble Quality (Quality Road ). Her youngest progeny are a yearling filly by Lope de Vega and a weanling filly by Kingman .