Carrumba Outduels Mei Ling in Top Flight

Phipps Stable's homebred Carrumba, a tough-luck second-place finisher in the Comely (gr. III) last time out, broke through for her first stakes win April 10 in the Top Flight Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct Racetrack.



The 4-year-old Bernardini   filly trained by Shug McGaughey, who has never finished worse than second in sevens starts, stalked early leader Mei Ling in the four-horse field and outdueled the front-runner in the stretch to finish a half-length ahead. She hit the wire in 1:50.26 under jockey Jose Ortiz.



Mei Ling ran the first quarter in :25.22 and held a 1 1/2-length advantage after a half in :49.19, but Carrumba moved within a head as six furlongs went in 1:12.86. The Todd Pletcher-trained daughter of Empire Maker   was game in defeat, however, as the top pair finished 15 3/4 lengths ahead of third place America. Noble and a Beauty came in fourth.



"I was very confident down the backside, but I was a little surprised that Mei Ling fought me as hard as she did in the home stretch," Ortiz said. "But I rode her last time and she's a fighter too. I knew she'd fight a little bit because we went easy early. (Mei Ling) got away from me a little, but I knew I could catch her."



The victory was extra special to Carrumba's connections following the death of Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps earlier in the week.



"It's special to ride in the Phipps stable colors, and very sad to lose someone as special as Mr. Phipps, but my condolences go out to his family and this win is for him," Ortiz said.

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"Absolutely this win was emotional," said Ogden Phipps II, the son of Dinny Phipps. "Our first time back at the races and it's obviously a big part of how we grew up with my dad. Coming back here and seeing a filly that he really loved and winning a stake is very emotional. Every time one of our horses runs in his colors I think it's going to be emotional for us."



Bred in Kentucky, out of the El Prado mare Castanet, Carrumba now has a 4-3-0 record from seven starts with earnings of $357,600.