Nootka Sound Gets First Stakes Score in Soaring Softly
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Nootka Sound wins the Soaring Softly Stakes at Belmont Park
Hat Creek Racing's Nootka Sound started strong and finished even better, leading at every call to notch her first career stakes win in the $100,000 Soaring Softly for 3-year-old fillies at Belmont Park on May 19. The victory gave her sire, Lonhro, his 75th black-type winner.
Originally carded as a seven-furlong turf event, a driving rainstorm moved the race to the sloppy (sealed) main track and downgraded it to a listed stakes. Nootka Sound shrugged off the conditions, leading a five-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in :22.61 and the half in :45.75.
Out of the turn, Nootka Sound opened up on even-money favorite Elevenses, who gave chase to the pacesetter from the break before Nootka Sound pulled away easily in the stretch, hitting the wire in 1:24.59 to win by four lengths.
"It didn't matter if it was turf or dirt today, I felt like she was going to handle the surface anyway," said jockey Dylan Davis. "When she came out of the gate, she knew what she had to do. She settled pretty nice for me and didn't mind the horse just to her outside (Elevenses). She knew what she had to do turning for home. She picked up another gear and got it done."
Nootka Sound won for the third time in five career starts and improved to two-for-two on dirt, where she won her debut in April 2017 at Keeneland before trainer Wesley Ward moved her to turf.
After a disappointing 17th in the Windsor Castle Stakes in June at Royal Ascot, Nootka Sound received a freshening and returned to post a two-length score against allowance company Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park before running second in the April 14 Bridgetown Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack.
"I've ridden for Wesley (Ward) quite a bit for my apprenticeship, so I had an idea how he likes his horses ridden coming in," Davis said. "He's a great trainer—knows how to start them and knows how to get them prepared coming in from the beginning. We used her speed to our advantage, and it worked out with how the track is playing today."
In her first appearance on Big Sandy, Nootka Sound went off at 4-1, paying $10.40 to win. She nearly doubled her career bankroll to $148,400.
Elevenses, trained by Jimmy Jerkens, finished 9 3/4 lengths clear of Strategic Dreams for second. March X Press and Brattata completed the order of finish.