Merry Meadow Wins Princess Rooney in Return

William Parsons Jr. and David S. Howe's homebred Merry Meadow made her return to the races a winning one, taking the $250,000 Princess Rooney Stakes (gr. II)  at Gulfstream Park on July 5.

Off since March 21, when she finished off the board as the odds-on favorite in the Inside Information Stakes (gr. II), Merry Meadow broke alertly under jockey Javier Castellano and raced in second behind pacesetter Flutterby, who set the early pace of :22.19 and :44.23 for the half-mile.

Sent off as the 7-5 favorite in the field of 10, Merry Meadow got on even terms with Flutterby turning for home and the two raced as a pair before Merry Meadow edged away late to prevail by 1 3/4 lengths.

"It was a perfect trip," Castellano said. "She was sharp, fresh, and a front-running horse. She wanted to race so I let her do what she wanted today."

The victory marked the third straight stakes win on the day for Castellano. "It feels excellent to win three straight... It's very exciting," the rider said.

Flutterby, the 9-2 third-choice, lasted to be a clear second, while Kiss to Remember rallied from far off the pace to get up for third.

"No excuse, no complaints," said jockey Luca Panici, who rode Flutterby. "She ran huge. She ran great. She kicked in when (Merry Meadow) came to me. She tried hard. I don't have a complaint."

Second-choice R Free Roll broke slowly before rushing up and weakening to fifth.

"This wasn't the trip I was expecting," said winning trainer Mark Hennig. "I thought R Free Roll and Flutterby would go and we could be sitting. I was afraid we wouldn't get by her (Flutterby). That horse is good right now. But I think (Merry Meadow), when she's fresh and you run her three-quarters, she's double tough. We had talked about this race for a while, that's why we stayed here for the Inside Information. I could give her a long break after that and send her up to me dad at Payson Park, let her freshen there, and get her back down her in a rested state."

Bred in Kentucky, Merry Meadow is a 5-year-old mare by Henny Hughes out of the dam Merryland Monroe (by Allen's Prospect).

After losing the first 10 starts of her career, Merry Meadow now has won nine of her next 18 starts, including victories in the 2014 Vagrancy Handicap (gr. III), the 2014 Sugar Swirl Stakes (gr. III) and the 2015 Hurricane Bertie Stakes (gr. III). She now has won nine of 28 career starts and earned $842,800.

Merry Meadow returned $4.80, $3.00, and $2.80 after running the six furlongs in 1:09.29 over the track labeled fast. Flutterby paid $4.80 and $3.40, while Kiss to Remember returned $4.00.

Sweet Basil got up to be fourth and was followed by second-choice R Free Roll, Naval Command, Tea Time, Little Michelle, Phaniebdancing, and Nesso.