Grade 3 Winner Pretty Birdie Flies Home in Poinsettia
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Photo: Coady Photography
Pretty Birdie wins the Poinsettia Stakes at Oaklawn Park
Marylou Whitney Stables' grade 3 winner Pretty Birdie finished out her season on a high note Dec. 17 with a dominant run in the $150,000 Poinsettia Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
The 3-year-old homebred filly arrived at the Arkansas oval from a five month layoff after finishing fifth last out in the July 9 Victory Ride Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park.
Up against seven other fillies and mares (3 years old and up), the daughter of Bird Song took the lead easily out of the gate under David Cabrera while I'm the Boss of Me and Ari Oakley pressed the early pace of :22.34 and :45.81. Around the final turn, the eventual winner revved her engine and increased her advantage to a 2 1/2-length lead as Sarah Harper and favored Carribean Caper both made late runs in :58.31 after the field leveled out for home.
Pretty Birdie went unchallenged as she soared beneath the wire with a 2-length advantage, winning the 5 1/2-furlong event on a fast track in a final time of 1:03.46. Sarah Harper was second and Carribean Caper was 3 1/4 lengths back in third after encountering minor traffic trouble.
Trainer Norm Casse campaigned Pretty Birdie ($10.60) for the win which improved her record to 9-4-2 and increased her earnings to $462,388.
Leading up to the Poinsettia, the filly put in a work over the Oaklawn surface Dec. 11 after shipping in from Churchill Downs. Cabrera says he was on the filly for the breeze which helped him to feel strong about their chances.
"What a nice horse. This year I was going to go to Kentucky and ride her there but unfortunately I got hurt," Cabrera said. "I worked her the other day and I was so happy with the way she worked. She is (much less) amateur than she was earlier this year. Today it was a lot of speed but I felt pretty confident."
Pretty Birdie took the 2021 Schuylerville Stakes (G3) in just her second start, and won the Purple Martin Stakes at Oaklawn earlier this year. She went on to runner-up finishes in the May 6 Eight Belles Stakes Presented by TwinSpires (G2) behind Matareya and the June 12 Leslie's Lady Overnight Stakes, with eventual Lexus Raven Run Stakes (G2) winner and Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) third Wicked Halo taking the score.
Pretty Birdie is the sole winner from two foals to race out of the Street Sense mare Bird Sense. The mare also has a yearling full brother to Pretty Birdie and a 2022 Far From Over filly. She was bred back to Justify for 2023.