Skippylongstocking Stamps Pegasus Ticket

With top 4-year-olds Flightline   and Olympiad   off to stud and leading 3-year-olds Epicenter   and Mo Donegal   forced into retirement early due to injury, there is a chasm to be filled among the older horse division as the new year looms.

Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking , a horse that has steadily climbed through the ranks throughout 2022, closed his sophomore campaign as a colt ready to rise to the occasion with a flourishing two-length win in the $150,000 Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) Dec. 31 at Gulfstream Park.

"He's such a gritty horse," trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. "I don't give him as much credit as he deserves probably because he just keeps trying and showing up each time."

Owned by Joseph's longtime client Alonso, Skippylongstocking enjoyed an auspicious year, punctuated by a victory in the West Virginia Derby (G3) that followed a game third-place showing to Mo Donegal and Nest  in the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1). However, the Exaggerator  colt's momentum seemed to falter after he finished an uninspiring ninth against in the Sept. 24 Pennsylvania Derby (G1).

Joseph, undeterred, shipped the bay down to his Palm Meadows Training Center base, giving the colt a much-needed respite under the balmy South Florida sun.

And then Skippylongstocking showed up again.

Flanking 12-1 shot Pioneer of Medina  in Saturday's 1 1/16-mile race, Skippylongstocking pressed the Todd Pletcher trainee through opening fractions of :23.75 and :47.14. Into the second bend, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. let the reins out a notch on Skippylongstocking, and he drew even with the frontrunner as the pair clicked off six furlongs in 1:11.08. With Skippylongstocking's stablemate, favored O'Connor , appearing to languish behind, only Simplication would move into contention.

Skippylongstocking leveled down and held his rivals comfortably at bay, clocking the 1 1/16 miles in a time of 1:42.76 on a fast main track.

Pioneer of Medina, coming off an allowance optional claimer win at Churchill Downs, nosed out Simplification for runner-up honors. O'Connor, a group 1 winner in his native Chile, checked in fourth.

"He beat some good horses," Saffie said of Skippylongstocking, who returned $8.40 on a $2 win ticket. "O'Connor is a good horse, and I don't think you saw the best of him today. He's much better than how he ran today. He was facing better horses today, trip-wise he got a good trip I can't blame (jockey) Edgard (Zayas), Edgard did his job. We'll go back to the drawing board and show up a better horse in the Pegasus.

"Both horses deserve a chance to go to the Pegasus (World Cup Invitational, G1). 'Skippy' earned his right today. It's two different horses, two different ownerships. I'm proud for Daniel Alonso, he's been a longtime supporter of me, and I'm disappointed for the other (owner), but that's how racing goes. And thankfully we got the job done for our team."

Picked up by Alonso for $37,000 as a juvenile out of the 2021 Ocala Breeders' Sale Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds-in-Training, Skippylongstocking boasts earnings of $777,810.

Bred in Kentucky by Bushy Hill and out of the War Chant mare Twinkling , Skippylongstocking is a half brother to two stakes winners, including the undefeated 2-year-old filly Olivia Twist , winner of the Dec. 17 Trapeze Stakes at Remington Park in her most recent start.

Maryquitecontrary Up to Rampart Task

Without the presence of the powerhouse stables from the north during the summer and fall meets at Gulfstream Park, Rodney Lundacks's homebred Maryquitecontrary  was making a bit of a name for herself down in South Florida as she strung together three consecutive victories. On Saturday, the Florida-bred filly proved she was up to the task of handling the Championship winter meet competition with a handy 3 1/2-length score in the $125,000 Rampart Stakes.

Guided by regular rider Luca Panici, aboard Maryquitecontrary for all but one of her six career starts, the 3-year-old daughter of First Dude   was in no hurry early in the mile race, content to race in fifth position off an opening quarter in :23.85 and half-mile in :46.97. Traveling widest but steering clear of traffic down the backstretch, the lanky bay cruised up to the pacesetters turning for home and thundered clear. Panici kept the filly to steady encouragement down the lane as she stopped the timer in 1:36.78 for the mile on a fast main track.

The Pletcher-trained Colorful Mischief  closed willingly but couldn't touch the winner. The second betting choice behind Maryquitecontrary, Colorful Mischief was bottled up behind horses on the fence turning for home and battling her way to the outside for running room.

Allworthy , who stalked throughout much of the running, completed the trifecta.

Trained by Florida-based Robert Catanese III, Maryquitecontrary ($5.80) collected her fifth win over the Hallandale oval. She improved her earnings to $220,780 with her first black-type tally.

"(Maryquitecontrary) always shows improvement, especially today with the mile race,” Panici said. “She’s an excellent horse. She’s always improving."

Maryquitecontrary is the first stakes winner produced by her dam, the Mecke mare Mary Kate 'n Kelly . The dam of four winners from five progeny to race, including Gulfstream Park six-furlong track record setter J B Quick  (J Be K ), Mary Kate 'n Kelly is out of the graded stakes winning race mare Boots 'N Jackie , making her a full sibling to Florida-bred warrior horse Supah Blitz , a three-time graded stakes victor with a bankroll of over $1.3 million. Mary Kate 'n Kelly also produced Arabella's Tune  (Concorde's Tune ), who produced Florida-bred stakes winner Pro Quality (Exclusive Quality ).