Paulassilverlining Pulls Clear in Distaff Handicap

Vincent Scuderi's homebred Paulassilverlining earned the second graded score of her career and first since October 2014 with an emphatic score in the $200,000 Distaff Handicap (gr. III) April 17 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 4-year-old Ghostzapper   filly jumped out of the gate to an early lead, but was able to settle just off the pace of longshot Madam Aamoura, who rushed up to hit the front from the outside in the seven-furlong dirt test.

After setting fractions of :22.93 and :45.42 through a half mile, however, Madam Aamoura was done late in the turn and allowed Paulassilverlining to take command at the top of the lane. The winner pulled clear to run six furlongs in 1:09.14 and hit the wire in 1:22.01 under jockey Jose Ortiz, 3 3/4 lengths ahead of even-money favorite Cavorting, who made a move up the rail but lacked any late punch.

"By the three-eighths pole I decided to see what I had and she responded very well," Ortiz said. "From the quarter-pole to the three-sixteenths pole, she put her head down and exploded."

Off as the 2-1 second choice, the Michelle Nevin-trained Paulassilverlining paid $6.40, $3, and $2.30 across the board. Cavorting brought $2.50 and $2.10, and third-place finisher Bar of Gold delivered $2.70 to show.

"She's been training so well, and in her last couple of runs, she's turned up every time," Nevin said. "She's really coming along. Paula's run well going six, seven, a mile—she always tries, always shows up. She's really improved over the last couple of months. We're heading the right way."

It was the first stakes win for Paulassilverlining since the Ruthless at Aqueduct in January of 2015, but she appeared primed for her 2016 campaign in her seasonal debut, a 9 1/4-length allowance victory at Aqueduct in February, before finishing second to Clothes Fall Off in the March 19 Correction last time out. Her lone graded score before the Distaff Handicap was the 2014 Matron (gr. II) at Belmont Park.

By the Moon finished an even fourth, followed by My Savannah Belle, La Madrina, and Madam Amoura, to complete the order of finish.

Bred in Kentucky, out of the Grindstone mare Seeking the Silver, Paulassilverlining now has a 5-3-2 record from 12 starts with $518,950 in earnings.