Colonia Shows Her Mettle in Valley View Victory
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Photo: Coady Photography
French-bred Colonia gets up to win the Pin Oak Valley View at Keeneland
Trainer Graham Motion had his share of concerns Oct. 19 as he watched the fractions go up on the board for the $150,000 Pin Oak Valley View Stakes (G3T). And as the field for the 1 1/16-mile test hit the top of the lane, there didn't appear to be a whole lot of relief on the horizon.
His late-running charge Colonia was mired near the back of the 13-horse lineup as pacesetter Cool Beans set a thoroughly relaxed pace, and she had a wall of rivals still in front of her as they settled in for the stretch run. Just when the class she had been teasing of began carrying her through traffic, the daughter of Champs Elysees nearly had her focus thrown off point by a late stretch incident when rival Daddy Is a Legend tried to jump the Keeneland safety rail while battling for the lead.
While the latter thankfully appeared to escape injury, Colonia provided her own happy outcome following a bout of stress when she rallied in the final strides to score a half-length win over Get Explicit, earning her first graded stakes win in her fourth North American start.
Owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Maurice Lagasse, Bethlehem Stables, and Haras d'Etreham, Colonia made her first five starts in her native France before joining Motion's barn this summer. She made a big first impression when she rallied from last to take the July 7 Hatoof Stakes in her stateside debut and came into Friday's test off a third-place run in the Sands Point Stakes (G2T).
Though Motion had some angst as he watched Colonia back in 11th while Cool Beans put up fractions of :24.35 and :50.06, jockey Joe Bravo was patiently letting the 3-year-old filly settle into her stride and set up the closing kick that came with a flurry.
"I was worried when they went a half in :50. I thought she had a lot to do," Motion said. "She has a tremendous turn of foot. Joe (Bravo) gave her a great ride. He was very patient."
As Bravo and Colonia shifted into the three-path and found a desired opening to make their charge in the lane, things got intense ahead of them. Daddy Is a Legend was advancing up the rail to take the leader when she gave everyone a scare by running through the rail while racing in tight quarters.
In an exceptional display of horsemanship, jockey Manuel Franco managed to stay aboard Daddy Is a Legend as she ducked through the flexible PVC rail—which was installed by Keeneland in 2016 to replace its previous solid pipe construction—and was able to get his mount pulled up in the infield where she was led off the course by an outrider.
"My filly got a little bit tight there, but I had the (opening)," Franco said of the incident. "She just got close to the rail and tried to jump it."
A credit to her mental fortitude, Colonia kept her determination on point as all heck broke out alongside her. She edged past Cool Beans in late stretch and had enough to keep fellow late-running Get Explicit at bay, covering the distance in 1:45.98 over a course rated firm.
"It was just really unfortunate this (incident) happened in the last eighth," Bravo said. "But this filly is just so focused at the finish line, that didn't bother her a bit. She stayed focused all the way throughout.
"Graham's always been excited about this horse coming along. That was a pretty nice move to go through everybody—weave her way through. She's going to be special. I can't wait to see what she does in the future."
Mighty Scarlett was fourth, with Reversethedecision fifth. There was a stewards inquiry into the running of the stretch, but no change was made to the final order of finish.
"It's a shame what happened in the stretch … but looks like everyone's OK," Motion said. "That's the main thing."
Colonia bolstered her record to three wins from nine starts with $227,014 in earnings. She was bred by Haras d'Etreham and Gestut Zur Kuste Ag out of the Muhtathir mare Clara Luna.