Determined Paulassilverlining Takes Ruthless

Favored Paulassilverlining slipped through on the rail at the head of the lane and fought Noble and a Beauty to the wire to prevail by a nose in the $98,000 Ruthless Stakes  for 3-year-old fillies Jan. 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack.



Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. bettered his brother Jose aboard 6-5 choice Paulassilverlining, who won all-out tussle through the lane with Noble and a Beauty in a time of 1:12.84 over a sloppy, sealed inner track.



Winner of last fall's Matron Stakes (gr. II) at Belmont Park, Vincent Scuderi's Kentucky homebred by Ghostzapper   is trained by Michelle Nevin. Paulassilverlining is out of the Grindstone mare Seeking the Silver and is a half sister to 2014 Carter Handicap (gr. I) winner Dads Caps.



Just five fillies contested the listed Ruthless, with Paulassilverlining toting top weight of 122 pounds.



Leaving from post 2, Paulassilverlining broke outwards and was leaning on Stormalina to her outside for several jumps before eventually working her way to the rail to stalk pacesetter Darling Sky from fourth. Darling Sky posted quarter-mile fractions of :23.60 and :47.95 as Paulassilverlining advanced to third rounding the turn.



Seizing an opportunity to the inside near the quarter pole, Paulassilverlining had a clear path through the lane as she was engaged by Noble and a Beauty and those two fought it out through the drive. Paulassilverlining had a head advantage at the eighth pole, but dug in and refused to let Noble and a Beauty past while fully extended in deep stretch.



"I broke good, and I just followed the instructions given to me by Michelle, which were to stay close and wait to make a run," said Ortiz. "The horse in front of me (Darling Sky) tried to get out and I was able to get through."



My Meadowview Farm's Noble and a Beauty had to take the overland route into the stretch and narrowly missed in only her second start following a debut maiden win at Aqueduct Nov. 30 for trainer Rick Violette Jr.



It was 6 1/2 lengths back to third-place finisher Dickinson, ridden by Junior Alvarado, with Darling Sky and Stormalina bringing up the rear.



Most recently second in Aqueduct's Tempted Stakes (gr. III) at one mile over the main track Nov. 2, Paulassilverlining posted her third win from five career starts while bumping her career earnings to $283,950. The bay filly broke her maiden in her second start by a nose on a muddy strip at Saratoga Race Course in August.



"(Ortiz) gave her an excellent ride," said Nevin. "On the inner track, you can't give up ground, so you can't come out and around and win. He did the right thing, stayed on the rail, and had patience.



"Once it opened up, she's a fighter. She wants to win. She's not very big—she's small, she's stocky, and she's got that little attitude about her. We'd love to try and stretch her out, to see if she can handle it, but right now she seems to have an affinity for sprinting. We'll think things over."



Paulassilverlining returned $4.50 and $2.60, topping an exacta worth $18.40 with Noble and a Beauty, who paid $4.70 as the 5-1 fourth choice. There was no show wagering.