Dana's Beauty kicked off the first annual Turfway Park Synthetic Championships in style, cruising to a facile gate-to-wire triumph in the $249,800 My Charmer Stakes Dec. 14.
The daughter of Not This Time has shined in her 6-year-old campaign, collecting her third black-type victory since being purchased by Resolute Racing for $450,000 out of the Keeneland Horses of Racing Age Sale in April. Dana's Beauty's sparkling performance convinced owner John Stewart, the founder of Resolute, to keep Dana's Beauty in training with Mike Maker as a 7-year-old.
"We have a lot of young horses running and it's really good to see these older horses very professional, go in there and get the business done and get the win," Stewart said. "Me and Mike (Maker) were just talking about her. She's going to turn 7 and still looking strong so there's no rush to get her to the breeding shed. We'll probably campaign her similar to how we did with Misty Veil and we'll evaluate her at the end of breeding season and see how she's doing."
Watch: Stewart Discusses Future Plans for Dana's Beauty
Piloted to the front under Luis Saez, who abandoned the balmy South Florida weather at Gulfstream Park to ride Saturday's chilly night card, Dana's Beauty strolled through an opening quarter-mile in :25.01 and :49.09. Facing only light pressure, Dana's Beauty had plenty left in the tank when the field turned for home, storming to a 4 1/2-length advantage under the wire.
The 6-5 favorite in the field of 10 fillies and mares, Dana's Beauty ($4.70) completed the 1 1/16 miles on the synthetic in 1:43.34.
Three-year-old Everland, a winner of Turfway's Bourbonette Oaks in the spring, returned to the site of her biggest victory with a game second-place finish up the rail. Ghostly Gal rounded out the trifecta.
Making the 43rd start of her career, the hard-knocking Dana's Beauty improved her career bankroll to $813,033.
The My Charmer was part of the Claiborne Farm “Make Your Mare” series with the Top 3 finishers earning future stallion credits of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500, respectively, to the famed farm.
Video: My Charmer S. Presented by Claiborne Farm (BT)
Paros Prevails in Prairie Bayou, sets new track mark
Two races later, Maker and Saez teamed up again to score in the $244,570 Prairie Bayou Stakes for 3-year-olds and up. This time, the win didn't come as easily, with Paradise Farms' Paros outbattling Dresden Row to the wire in a heart-pounding finish.
With his first stakes win in the Prairie Bayou, Paros landed his fifth win in a row and third since being claimed by Maker in July at Saratoga Race Course. The former $40,000 claimer didn't disappoint in his black-type debut, tracking well off quick early fractions of :23.53, :46.95, and 1:11.37 before launching his assault around the final bend. Threading his way through horses, Saez angled Paros wide and into the clear at the top of the lane and the pair barreled past race favorite Wadsworth.
Canadian invader Dresden Row, also far back during the early going, launched a furious late rally along the inside in deep stretch, falling a head short of catching Paros.
Hush of a Storm and Wadsworth finished third and fourth, respectively, for trainer Brad Cox, two lengths behind the top pair.
Paros ($14.94), a 4-year-old son of Cairo Prince , raced the 1 1/16 miles in a track record time of 1:42.22.
"I was very confident coming into today," Saez said. "He's a horse I know pretty well (Saez partnered Paros to win at Keeneland in an Oct. 19 third-level allowance event). He's a horse that has a big turn of foot. We just tried to follow the right horses along the way and at the top of the stretch, I had a lot of horse."
In addition to the two stakes, Saez and Maker also captured the third race on Saturday's card with 6-year-old Race Craft.
"It's been a wonderful day," Saez said. "The horses are all showing up and running great. I'm really enjoying it. It was worth it (to leave the warm weather in Florida). It's a little cold here, but coming up here every once in awhile isn't so bad."
