A sloppy track played right into the hands of Boardshorts Stables' Hot Beach in the April 12 off-the-turf running of the $244,563 Limestone Stakes at Keeneland.
In an afternoon where seven of the day's winners were victorious in gate-to-wire fashion, jockey Jose Ortiz employed Hot Beach's natural raw speed to his advantage and spurred the filly to the lead within the first two seconds of the race. The 3-year-old daughter of Omaha Beach cruised unchallenged through splits of :22.24 and :45.16. Briefly challenged by Zoe's Prime at the quarter pole, Hot Beach kicked into a new gear and splashed to the wire a handy four lengths in front.
Hot Beach ($3.98) stopped the clock in 1:05.70 for the 5 1/2 furlongs.
Zoe's Prime held on for second by one length over Kodiac Wintergreen in third in a field reduced to eight.
Trained by Brian Lynch, Hot Beach was expected to make her turf debut in the Limestone after making her previous four starts on the dirt. However, the plans may have changed for the filly following her romp in the mud.
"We may go back to the dirt with her now," said Payton Boersma, son of Boardshorts founder Travis Boersma. Boersma called Hot Beach the first "big filly" the ownership group has had since its creation five years ago. Hot Beach provided the ownership group with another stakes win last August when she captured the Ellis Park Debutante Stakes.
Since the race was moved to the turf, the current listed status of the race will be determined by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
