Forever Unbridled Breaks Through in Comely

In her second start off a more than five-month layoff following a run in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), Forever Unbridled broke through Nov. 28 at Aqueduct Racetrack in the $300,000 Comely Stakes (gr. III).



After stalking the pace during the 1 1/8-mile Comely, the 3-year-old daughter of Unbridled's Song made a simultaneous move on the outside with favored Carrumba and outdueled that rival to the wire to win by a head, 7 1/2 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Wonder Gal.

"I knew (Carrumba) is a fighter, so I was just waiting for the last second to get on her," winning jockey John Velazquez said. "I waited until the three-sixteenths pole to get on her and she put up a good fight. I just wanted to wait, wait, wait, and then surprise her. If I went too quick by her, I knew she would come back and beat me, so I waited a little longer and then surprise her in the end. It worked out."



It was the first graded win for the Charles Fipke homebred, who is trained by Dallas Stewart, and the first victory since she broke her maiden at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots just less than a year ago.

"She has been a solid horse all year—ran second and third to I'm a Chatterbox a few times," Stewart said. "We gave her a break after the (Kentucky) Oaks and she'd been training great. She came up there ready to run. There are a lot of Grade I's next year and at Saratoga and I think she's capable if we handle it right."



Unexpected frontrunner Temper Mint Patty set the pace, running out front with fractions of :24.04, :49.47, and 1:14.27 through six furlongs, as Forever Unbridled raced in fourth in the backstretch. The early leader was finished in the final turn, however, as Forever Unbridled and Carrumba battled to the wire, running the mile in 1:38.48 and hitting the wire in 1:50.75.



Off at 9-2, Forever Unbridled paid $11.40, $5.40, and $3.50 across the board. Carrumba brought $4.20 and $2.80, while Wonder Gal returned $2.80 to show.

Stroke Play closed to finish fourth, followed by Peace and War, Fast Retailing, Temper Mint Patty, Jc's Shooting Star, Pangburn, and Curlish Figure, to complete the order of finish.



Forever Unbridled was bred in Kentucky, out of the Lemon Drop Kid   mare Lemons Forever, and now has a 2-2-2 record from eight starts, including thirds in this year’s Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) and Rachel Alexandra Stakes (gr. III).