Uzziel Breaks Through in Goldikova Stakes

Twice a previous runner-up in graded stakes, James and Tammy McKenny's homebred Uzziel found the right formula to break through in the $200,000 Goldikova Stakes (gr. IIT) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

The California-bred daughter of Harlington—Pretti Woman, by Lord At War sped to the lead heading into the first turn of the mile turf event and never relented, holding off a closing drive from graded winner Queen of The Sand to win by 2 1/4 lengths at 6-1 odds. Gender Agenda came in third and favored Elektrum finished fourth in a blanket finish for place honors.



In her previous start, the Keith Desormeaux-trained filly finished second in the L.A. Woman Stakes (gr. III) on dirt, just ahead of eventual Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) third-place finisher Taris. Uzziel also finished second in the Feb. 14 Santa Maria (gr. II) and came in third in the Aug. 16 Rancho Bernardo (gr. III).



BALAN: Ben's Duchess Closes to Win L.A. Woman



"Keith just told me to let her roll," said winning jockey Kent Desormeaux, who guided the filly through fractions of :23.66, :47.55, and 1:11.45, before hitting the wire at 1:34.77 on firm turf. "He thought that was our best opportunity to win today. Honestly, her demeanor today was so much better than her character last time. She let me ride her. Last time, she was very aggressive and Keith did whatever he had to do to fix that problem. She was an angel to ride today."



The winner paid $15.40, $6, and $5 across the board. Queen of The Sand brought $6 and $2.60, while Gender Agenda returned $3.60 to show.



The bottom four finishers in the race were all within a half-length of each other at the wire, with Stormy Lucy fifth and Living The Life sixth.



Uzziel has a 6-4-3 record from 20 starts, with $457,488 in earnings.