Paulassilverlining Prevails in Matron

Vince Scuderi's homebred Paulassilverlining rallied from off the pace to run past pacesetter Evrybdymstgetstonz to win the 107th running of the Matron Stakes (gr. II)  Oct. 5 at Belmont Park.

Skipalute was 1 1/4 lengths back in second, with Evrybdymstgetstonz third, another 2 3/4 lengths back.



Paulassilverlining, trained by Michelle Nevin, got the six furlongs in 1:10.86 on a fast track. The bay filly, bred in Kentucky, is by Ghostzapper   out of the Grindstone mare Seeking the Silver.



The winner is a half sister to Dads Caps (by Discreet Cat  ), winner of the Carter Handicap (gr. I) and second in last weekend's Vosburgh Stakes (gr. I). Seeking the Silver is a half sister to stakes winner Choctaw Ridge. Bred in Florida by Plumley Farms, Seeking the Silver was claimed by Scuderi and trainer Richard Dutrow in April 2004. She delivered her first foal, stakes-placed Liza Too (by Olmodavor), in 2006.



Evrybdymstgetstonz broke alertly under Luis Saez, jumping out to run an opening quarter mile in :22.41 as Darling Sky, odds-on favorite Paris Bikini, and Skipalute gave chase. As the field came out of the turn after a half-mile in :46.07, Paris Bikini dropped out of contention as Skipalute and Paulassilverling came after the leader and the winner collared her as they completed five furlongs in :58.34.

"Jose (Ortiz) gave her a perfect ride and everything worked out for us," said Nevin of the winner. "She's very smart and responds well to your hands. She'll go easy, and she's got some speed, too. Right now she's so sharp, we're willing to keep her sprinting."

 

The win by jockey Jose Ortiz was his third of the day.

"The first time (her first start) I made a mistake. She broke really well and I was pressed all the way. She didn't finish," said Ortiz. "The second time, I sat back a little bit and let her make one run, and it worked perfectly. My plan today was to do the same thing, to follow (trainer Todd) Pletcher's filly (Paris Bikini) and everything worked out great. She's a great filly for sprints."



Paulassilverlining paid $13.80, $7.40, $4.70. Skipalute returned $8.40 and $5.50. Evrybdymstgetstonz paid $7.70 to show. The 2-5 exacta paid $65.50.

Save Rock and Roll was fourth, followed by Paris Bikini, Darling Sky, Empressive Humor, and Desert Image.



It was the second win from three starts for Paulassilverlining. She ran fourth in her six-furlong debut July 27 at Saratoga Race Course, then topped Skipalute by a nose Aug. 22 at the Spa at the same trip. Both races were run over muddy, sealed tracks