Peach Tie Defends Home Track in Miss Preakness
Image:
Description:
Photo: Jeffrey Snyder/Maryland Jockey Club
Peach Tie wins the Miss Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park
The husband-and-wife team of jockey Sheldon and trainer Brittany Russell are set to be the hometown team in this year's Preakness Stakes (G1) May 16 with Taj Mahal . On May 15 at Laurel Park, they got a taste that holding their own against the shippers is indeed possible when Peach Tie won the $148,500 Miss Preakness Stakes (G3).
Peach Tie had gradually increased in distance through her races in an attempt to see if she would fit in races such as the 1 1/8-mile George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2), also held Friday at Laurel. After a pair of stakes wins at 7 furlongs, she was beaten a head when stretching out to a mile in the Beyond The Wire Stakes March 21. After that, Brittany knew it was time to cut the daughter of Preservationist back to 6 furlongs.
"She's a tough filly and she tries and handled everything we threw at her, but I think ultimately she's a sprinter," Brittany said.
"She was getting the job done, but I think all of her sprint races she's looked the most impressive," Sheldon said. "It was a tiring second last time when we stretched her out, the second wire caught her. She runs hard, and I definitely think this is what she is: a midrange, stalking, closing sprinter."
The chestnut filly had been in the top two positions at every point of call in her last two stakes victories, but stepping into graded company the Russells expected there to be some quicker early foot from her rivals. They were right as Peach Tie was last, 7 lengths behind, in the five-horse field after an opening quarter-mile in :22.04 set by Little Miss Curlin with Lights Out Leni in close pursuit.
"My filly is pretty adaptable. I knew coming off a long race, she probably wasn't going to flash her usual speed," Sheldon said. "She's also running against horses that are better and faster today. I don't think that was ever the plan to have her up. The plan was to break her sharp and just keep them (in sight)."
Florida-based Tessellate got the first jump on the pacesetters, moving up to take the lead down the lane. But Sheldon was building Peach Tie's momentum. She came with the last rally down the center of the track and surged on for a 1 1/2-length triumph in 1:11.87. The only Maryland-based filly in the race paid $16.60 as the second-biggest price. Tessellate was second with Little Miss Curlin holding third.
"They got away from her, but she was always traveling," Sheldon said. "It was just whether or not when I made the move could she keep going and were they going to slow down; sometimes those ones don't slow down. She's got a big heart, she loves to win, she knew what her job was, and she's going on with it."
Sheldon and Brittany Russell kiss after winning the Miss Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park
The win was the second of three on the card for Brittany, who won the Hilltop Stakes with Coach Mazzula one race later.
Peach Tie's first graded win and third stakes win lifted her career earnings to $339,995 with a record of 6-1-1 from eight starts. A homebred for the Estate of Brereton C. Jones, she is the first stakes winner out of the winning Orb mare Belles Orb . All four of the dam's foals to race have won.
Peach Tie became the second graded winner this year for Preservationist after Antiquarian won the Westchester Stakes (G3) earlier this month. The stallion died in South Korea last year.