Tricky Escape Has It Her Way in Fasig-Tipton Waya
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Taylor Ejdys
Tricky Escape wins the Waya Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Having her way on the lead, Jon Marshall's Tricky Escape put together back-to-back stakes victories, taking the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes Aug. 12 at Saratoga Race Course.
"This is my first win (at Saratoga). I just really love being here," Tricky Escape's trainer, Lynn Ashby, said. "I started crying because I thought, 'I'm going to win this race.' I was quite teary-eyed coming down."
The daughter of Hat Trick came into the contest for fillies and mares off a score in the July 7 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (G3T) going 1 1/8 miles on turf at Delaware Park.
Originally set to run Aug. 4, the Waya was rescheduled after heavy rain forced officials to cancel the last two races of the card. The race was also scheduled as a 1 1/2-mile turf contest but was moved to the main track at 1 1/4 miles a week later.
A field of four went to the post Sunday, and after the defection of the favored Santa Monica, it was Mom's On Strike who was made the betting favorite at odds of 1-2.
With the field spread out about three to four lengths from front to back, Tricky Escape set moderate fractions of :24.55, :49.81, 1:14.40 through six furlongs. At the top of the far turn, jockey Chris DeCarlo let a notch out of the reins, and the 5-year-old mare opened up on the field.
Mom's On Strike wasn't going to let her get away and gave chase through the turn. As she ranged up beside Tricky Escape in the stretch, it looked as though the two would fight it out. But after a few taps of the whip from DeCarlo, Tricky Escape pulled away to win by 3 3/4 lengths in a final time of 2:04.08 over the fast track.
"The last race when she won, she galloped out and would never let a horse go by, so I had in my mind, 'If I can make the lead, she might just keep on going,' and she did," DeCarlo said. "This being a short field, I wasn't going to play games. My filly, I hadn't really set her down and asked her. She was kind of flipping around her ears, so I knew I wasn't at the bottom of her yet."
The winner paid $9.70 and $3.50 with no show wagering. Mom's On Strike returned $2.40 to place, and Lottie and Savannah Belle completed the order of finish.
"We took her back home (when the race was postponed)," Ashby said. "It's just five hours. It's a huge paddock she's turned out in. I thought she was really a better horse this weekend than she was last weekend. I did a really strong gallop with her on Monday and then we jogged her. She jumped on the trailer and shipped in. We're just real happy.
"For our next race, we're going to go to Kentucky Downs for the Ramsey Farm (Stakes). She ran second in that last year, so we'll probably do that. She'll tell us (after that). She can do any surface, as she proves. She's amazing."