Stopchargingmaria wins the Coaching Club American Oaks by five lengths. (Photo by NYRA/Coglinese Photos)
Skipping the Mother Goose so Stopchargingmaria would be ready for the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks proved to be a smart move by the filly’s connections when she won the July 20 race by five lengths.
Earlier in the week, trainer Todd Pletcher said that the decision was made to go to the Coaching Club American Oaks in order to get Stopchargingmaria a Grade 1 win, which would be easier in the Saratoga Race Course race. Stopchargingmaria proved that decision right when the field entered the far turn and she took the lead as they hit the stretch. Stopchargingmaria had an easy first part of the race, stalking the leaders in fractions of 24.03 and 48.08 during the first half before Javier Castellano asked her to make a move as they entered the far turn. The Tale of the Cat daughter took over the lead from Miss Besilu as the field straightened out with Castellano sitting still on the filly.
By mid-stretch, Stopchargingmaria was playing a game of ‘catch me if you can’. While Unbridled Forever made moves to put herself solidly in second she had no chance of catching Stopchargingmaria. The winning filly pulled away and made the race look like an early morning gallop, complete with pricked ears, covering the 1 1/8 miles in a time of 1:49.80. Unbridled Forever put on a show of her own, beating third place Miss Besilu by 4 ½ lengths.
This is Stopchargingmaria’s second consecutive victory and fourth stakes victory. The filly started her career almost exactly a year ago, winning her debut by 5 ½ lengths on July 19, 2013 at Saratoga. The filly is trained by Todd Pletcher, who won his sixth Coaching Club American Oaks with this victory. Owned by Mike Repole’s Repole Stable, she was bought for $220,000 at a 2-year-olds in training sale after selling for $47,000 as a yearling.
The winner went off at odds of 6/5, paying $4.40 for a $2 win ticket.