Dawn the Destroyer Grabs Stakes Win in Interborough
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Joe Labozzetta
Dawn the Destroyer and Junior Alvarado come home strong in the Interborough Stakes
Stonestreet Stables' Dawn the Destroyer handled the return to stakes company with aplomb, running down Sower in deep stretch and surging to the wire to win the rescheduled $100,000 Interborough Stakes for older fillies and mares Jan, 25 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
After four consecutive starts against allowance company following a 10th place finish in the Safely Kept Stakes in November of 2017 at Laurel Park, the 5-year-old Speightstown mare successfully stepped up in class to earn her first stakes score. The win marked the 100th black-type stakes winner for her sire.
Originally slated for Monday's card that was canceled due to dangerously low windchill temperatures, the Interborough attracted a field of eight. Off as the 7-5 favorite, grade 2-placed Dawn the Destroyer saved ground early. Out of the turn, jockey Junior Alvarado angled Dawn the Destroyer wide before overtaking four challengers to gain the lead past the eighth pole, besting Sower by 1 3/4 lengths and completing seven furlongs in a final time of 1:25.74.
"On the backside, she did not give me any feeling that I was going anywhere," Alvarado said. "I was thinking she didn't want to be too much on the inside, so I moved her to the outside. When I moved her outside, the race was over.
"When I moved her outside, she completely changed and picked up the bridle again and took off very nicely at the end."
The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee improved her career bankroll to $231,405. McLaughlin has won the Interborough two of the last three years, with Takrees capturing the 2017 edition.
"With the little bit of time off since she's been back, she's really been training well. I expected her to run well today and I'm just glad she did," said Joe Lee, assistant to McLaughlin.