Wonder Gadot Rebounds in Demoiselle

After a troubled sixth-place finish in last month's 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Gary Barber's Wonder Gadot found herself back in the winner's circle Dec. 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Mark Casse-trained Medaglia d'Oro  filly never allowed rival Daisy to get more than a length away from her in the early stages of the $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2). Around the turn for home, jockey John Velazquez let his filly go and Wonder Gadot cruised to a 3 3/4-length victory.

"The plan going into it (was to) kind of sit off of it but be a little closer than she was in the last race," Casse's assistant trainer Jamie Begg said of the filly who raced near the rear of the field in the Breeders' Cup. "And the fractions worked beautifully in our favor. Johnny (Velazquez) said he was just waiting there to make his move. I was pretty happy with the way it worked out because a few of the races here have been going pretty quick up front and the speed is holding.

"Mark was smart. He sent her straight back to the farm from California (after the Breeders' Cup) and they were pondering what to do with her. So they sent her back to the farm, and I think that lay back kind of helped her a little bit."

In the 1 1/8-mile test for juvenile fillies Saturday, Daisy broke sharply from the rail and assumed the early lead in the eight-horse field. Wonder Gadot was pressing the leader from her outside as Held Accountable and Maurer Power raced just behind the two leaders in third and fourth, respectively. Daisy took the field through easy fractions of :24.47, :50.28, and 1:16.24 for six furlongs. 

With jockey Kendrick Carmouche already encouraging Daisy around the far turn, Wonder Gadot caught up to her and gained the lead at the top of the stretch. Maurer Power put away a fading Daisy, but didn't have enough to catch Wonder Gadot, who completed the distance in a final time of 1:53.91. 

Maurer Power was second, three lengths ahead of Layla Noor in third. Daisy finished fourth. Held Accountable, Indy Union, Stakes On a Plane, and Vindictive Ways completed the order of finish.

"I was talking to the trainers about staying closer to the speed," Velazquez said of his ride. "We were hoping she would be comfortable and I was happy where she put me. When I came down, I switched leads, and she was going very comfortable and got away from the horses pretty easily. She has a beautiful stride. I was very happy with the way she did it."

Sent off as the 8-5 favorite, the winner returned $5.20, $3.20, and $2.60 across the board. 

Prior to the Breeders' Cup, Wonder Gadot dominated the Oct. 7 Mazarine Stakes (G3) at Woodbine by sixth lengths. Before that, she ran a close third in Woodbine's grade 1 Natalma Stakes behind Capla Temptress.

Bred by Anderson Farms in Ontario, the filly was twice sold at auction. First, she brought $80,000 from Eisaman Equine at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale. From there, she was pinhooked in April to the Ocala Breeders' Sale spring sale of 2-year-olds in training, where TM Investments picked her up for $325,000. 

Out of the winning Vindication mare Loving Vindication, Wonder Gadot is a half sister to graded-placed stakes winner Solemn Tribute. Her half sister by Hard Spun  was a $400,000 purchase by West Point Thoroughbreds and Vosburgh at this year's Keeneland September sale. 

On Saturday, Wonder Gadot improved her record to three wins and one third from five starts and boosted her earnings to $312,973. She also earned 10 points toward a start in the 2018 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), as the Demoiselle awarded points to the top four finshers as 10-4-2-1.