Hot and Sultry Sticks It Out in American Beauty Score

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Hot and Sultry Sticks It Out in American Beauty Score
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Photo: Coady Photography
Hot and Sultry defeats I'm the Boss of Me to win the American Beauty Stakes at Oaklawn Park

The lightly raced Hot and Sultry  defeated the much more experienced I'm the Boss of Me  in a late duel to the wire in the $150,000 American Beauty Stakes Jan. 21 at Oaklawn Park.

Hot and Sultry, owned by Arkansas residents Alex and Jo Lieblong, almost didn't run in the six-furlong American Beauty, with her connections considering trying the 4-year-old filly around two turns. But trainer Norm Casse decided to take a shot when the race came up with a short field, and Hot and Sultry delivered under jockey David Cabrera.


A debut winner over the local oval last winter, Hot and Sultry was second to graded stakes winner Yuugiri  last time out in a Dec. 30 allowance in her first effort since moving from Hall of Famer's Steve Asmussen's barn. She had entered that race coming off a nearly six-month freshening.

"Coming off a layoff, running a bang-up second last time out, I was worried," Casse said. "I mean, that’s the trainer in me. You’ve got to be worried. But she touted her hand all week going into the race. She was ready to go. Plans change. Ideally, we would have been forwardly placed, just on cruise control, but things change. David just rode a tremendous race. He was patient with her today. I really do think the sky’s the limit with this filly."

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Breaking a step slow under Cabrera, Hot and Sultry quickly worked her way up between rivals, racing in a hard-held fourth behind the pacesetters through a :21.74 opening quarter. As I'm the Boss of Me, who had been battling on the front end with Connie K  for the first three furlongs, poked her head in front at the top of the lane, Hot and Sultry split horses and engaged I'm the Boss of Me in a fight to the wire.

Hot and Sultry ($4.40) prevailed by a half-length in a time of 1:10.10 on a fast track.

"I worked her the other day and I was just like, ‘Man,’ all she wants is run," Cabrera said. "When we came out a step slow and they came over on top of her real quick, I kind of had to take up a little bit. I knew how much horse was underneath me.”

Her victory gave Casse his second stakes win over the Oaklawn meet after he previously won the Poinsettia Stakes last month with Pretty Birdie .

Sarah Harper  completed the trifecta in the six-horse field.

A $475,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale acquisition, Hot and Sultry improved her earnings to $256,395 with her third victory in five career starts. Bred in Kentucky, the daughter of Speightster —Hot Water , by Medaglia d'Oro  , is a half sister to last year's Ben Ali (G3) and Challenger Stakes (G3) victor Scalding  and stakes winner Tracksmith .


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