Pounce, Emmanuel Take Graded Stakes at Gulfstream

Pounce  lived up to her name as she stole the $200,000 Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3T) in the final strides March 2 at Gulfstream Park.

Breaking the widest of eight, Javier Castellano was content with letting the field go forward while he angled the 3-year-old daughter of Lookin At Lucky  towards the rail, entering the clubhouse turn just two paths from the inside.

Castellano never panicked as he sat last behind fractions of :23.83, :46.58, and 1:09.38. Moving in tandem with Crown Imperial  around the far turn, Pounce threaded between horses and found clear sailing on the outside down the stretch for her rally.

Tracking on the flank of grade 3 winner Life's an Audible , Pounce displayed her strong turn of foot as the two surged past favored Ozara  with a sixteenth left. Pounce continued forward as she pounced on Life's an Audible in the final jump to win by a neck, stopping the clock in 1:33.17 for the mile.

Pounce was backed at the window; bet down from a 20-1 morning line to go off at 9-1, paying $20.

DENK: Pounce Back in Action After Topping F-T Digital Sale

It was instant gratification for new owners Resolute Racing, who just purchased the sale-topping filly last month for $370,000 at the Fasig-Tipton February Digital Sale. Pounce is now 3-for-4 lifetime with career earnings of $216,324, all for trainer Mark Casse.

Emmanuel Repeats in Canadian Turf

Last March, Emmanuel  won the Canadian Turf (G3T) with the benefit of an earlier start, having won the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T) on grass in February.

This year, he was without a tightener—though the $150,000 Canadian Turf result was the same. Once again, he was triumphant, turning back stretch bids from runner-up Siege of Boston  and third-place Ice Chocolat  to score by a neck during Saturday's card at Gulfstream. He stalked, pounced, and lasted for a narrow victory, blitzing 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in 1:39.04 with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle.

His second Canadian Turf gave him a fifth career graded win. He is 7-for-13 overall. Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher trains Emmanuel for owners Siena Farm and WinStar Farm.

A $350,000 purchase from the 2020 September Yearling Sale at Keeneland, he is a 5-year-old son of the late standout sire More Than Ready out of the Hard Spun   mare Hard Cloth .