Neecie Marie has stacked up her frequent flying miles in the past two months.
Stabled for the summer at Saratoga Race Course, she made the 11-hour trip down to Colonial Downs last month to finish second in the Beverly D. Stakes (G2T) and now vanned 13 hours from New York to Kentucky Downs to capture the Sept. 7 Ladies Marathon Stakes (G3T).
"She shipped in perfectly. She's been here two days," trainer Robert "Butch" Reid Jr. said of the 4-year-old Cross Traffic filly. "It's nice when you have a horse that can do that. Nothing bothers her and she loves (her job). She has a great head on her shoulders, that's the best thing about her."
Second-to-last early in the field of nine older fillies and mares behind early fractions of :25.16, :48.71, and 1:11.94, jockey Joel Rosario and Neecie Marie picked off horses one by one in a steady roll as she was sent widest of all in the uphill drive to the wire. Reaching for the finish, she mowed past two-time Kentucky Downs stakes winner Vergara late and powered clear for a 2 3/4-length victory.
Registering the second graded stakes win of her career for owner Michael Milam, Neecie Marie ($10.02) raced the 1 5/16 miles in 2:07.16 over a firm turf course.
"I knew the distance wouldn't be a challenge and that was the key to the race," Reid said. "The anxious moment was probably coming into the race because the track had been so speed-favoring, but you have to run your race with what your filly does. You can't alter your plans from there. Joel just did a fantastic job."
Vergara and European import Three Priests completed the trifecta.
Since Neecie Marie is a Pennsylvania-bred, she is ineligible for the full $2 million Ladies Marathon purse that includes a $1 million Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund supplement for Kentucky-breds, but will still pocket a healthy $595,200 for her win, her richest to date.
