Include Betty Notches Grade I in Mother Goose
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Include Betty, the lone graded stakes winner in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies for the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes (gr. I), proved the class of the field when she delivered a 3 1/4-length victory in the June 27 race at Belmont Park.
Longshot Hot City Girl led the field through a half-mile in :45.50, pressed by Embellish the Lace, while Brereton Jones and Timothy Thornton's Include Betty raced last of 10 while saving ground. Soon angled out by jockey Drayden Van Dyke, the daughter of Include rallied four wide in the turn and then five wide in early stretch, where she soon took command.
Trained by Tom Proctor, Include Betty completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.68 under Van Dyke, who secured his first Belmont win two races earlier, when, in his debut at the track, he guided Glen Hill Farm's Be Nice Or Leave to victory for Proctor in a claiming race on the Widener turf course. Van Dyke improved to 2-for-2 at the Elmont, N.Y. track in spectacular fashion.
"It was a perfect trip. I know they were going fast up front and I knew this long stretch should really help her out. She makes that nice little last run and I knew it'd work out just perfect for her," said Van Dyke, who secured the second overall grade I win of his career. "I just had to make sure that I kept pulling my googles down so I could see where I was going. It's not too bad out there but [mud] is sticking to your googles but it's not like sloppy or anything."
Treadway Racing Stable's Wonder Gal, the 7-2 lukewarm favorite, edged Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider homebred Chide for second. Wonder Gal has placed in four grade I races but the daughter of Tiz Wonderful is still looking for her first win at the highest level while Chide, by Blame , earned her first grade I placing.
Trainer Leah Gyarmati liked Wonder Gal's performance.
"She really showed a lot of guts running it out for second. For a minute there in the stretch, it looked like we may be nowhere," Gyarmati said. "She broke really well. Things worked out, with horses on the inside of her, that she got to relax and sit back a little bit. We had to kind of keep going a little bit more than we wanted to when that other horse came over and made a little start. We would've liked to have been able to relax a little longer."
Include Betty, who entered off a runner-up finish in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (gr. II) May 15 at Pimlico Race Course, paid $12.80 to win, $5.20 to place, and $3.60 to show, while Wonder Gal returned $4.10 and $3.20. Chide paid $5.30 to show.
Bred in Kentucky by Jones and Lavin Bloodstock, Include Betty is out of the winning Eltish mare Betty's Solutions, who also has produced grade I-placed Blonde Fog.