Paulassilverlining Golden in Garland of Roses

The class advantage Paulassilverlining owned on paper heading into the $125,000 Garland of Roses was confidently flaunted over Aqueduct Racetrack's inner surface, as the daughter of Ghostzapper   lived up to her 1-9 favoritism with a 2 1/4-length win Dec. 10. 

Paulassilverlining brought both form and experience to the table in the Garland of Roses as the six-furlong test marked her ninth start of 2016 and her first outing since running third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) Nov. 5 at Santa Anita Park. As the lone graded stakes winner in the Garland of Roses field—which scratched down to five runners—the 4-year-old filly handled business as expected. She rated third in an outside path through an opening half-mile in :46.66, then advanced on the final turn en route to collar Disco Chick in the lane while being kept to task by jockey Jose Ortiz.

"I asked and she responded well," Ortiz said. "She switched leads and kicked on. When she starts going by herself, she starts playing around, so I hit her a couple of times to make her focus. She finished up well. I'm very happy with the race."

The decision by trainer Michelle Nevin to give Paulassilverlining one more start before the year was out was sparked by the consistency Vincent Scuderi's homebred has maintained all season. After starting her campaign with an allowance win at Aqueduct in February, Paulassilverlining raced exclusively in stakes company, racking up victories in the Distaff Handicap (gr. III), Vagrancy Handicap (gr. III), and Gallant Bloom Handicap (gr. II) prior to her Breeders' Cup outing.

The only time the bay filly was worse than third this year came when she finished fifth in the grade I Ballerina Handicap Aug. 27 at Saratoga Race Course.

Breaking from post 4 in the Garland of Roses, Paulassilverlining got away in good order to race in a clear path in third, as Kelsocait cut the opening quarter in :23.08, with Disco Chick prompting the matter. As Disco Chick took over the lead with about three furlongs remaining, Paulassilverlining found her best stride and grabbed command the eighth pole.

"I'm very proud of her. How could you not be? She's been a star from the get-go," Nevin said. "It's up to her and it's up to (Scuderi) if she will continue running into next year. She's a filly that likes to go out and race. She kind of conserves her energy in the morning time. She's a solid filly that likes to work so we'll see what happens."

The final time for the race was 1:11.60. Disco Chick held for second, with My Savannah Belle, Kelsocait, and Callista rounding out the order of finish.

Paulassilverlining paid $2.30 and $2.10. There was no show wagering.

Bred in Kentucky, Paulassilverlining improved her record to eight wins from 18 starts and is racing's newest millionaire with $1,008,950 in earnings.