Newstead Stables and trainer Graham Motion have a good one on their hands in Laurelin.
A perfect 4-for-4 to start her career, including a trio of one-mile stakes wins, the daughter of Zarak aced her biggest test yet while stepping up in company and stretching out in distance to win the $500,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 9.
"This is a grade 1 horse," the 3-year-old filly's satisfied rider, Kendrick Carmouche, declared in the winner's circle. "You can feel the confidence and the relaxedness in this horse. ... She just keeps getting better."
Under expert piloting, the chestnut filly completed the 1 3/16-mile contest in 1:52.60 and paid $6.40 to win as the second choice. That victory was potentially sealed at the start as she broke sharply from the outside of the six-horse field, pushing Totally Justified to her inside up to the lead as favored Opulent Restraint took up the chase. Evershed was directly to Laurelin's inside, allowing Carmouche to see everyone he wanted to.
"I really wanted to see if I could take a couple of guys out of the race where they can think that I'm going to go," Carmouche said of the quick break and then rating back. "I thought the three horses that could have beat me were the two in front of me and the one inside of me."
Carmouche kept his filly in the clear as she chased fractions of :23.48, :47.60, and 1:11.52. Carmouche approached the leaders outside the quarter pole and always looked like they were traveling best down the lane. Separating herself from her foes in the final sixteenth, she finished 1 3/4 lengths clear of Evershed, as Opulent Restraint held third.
"It's like driving a Maserati to be exact," Carmouche said of the ride. "She sits in your hand. You move your hand, and she goes. If you pull your hands back, she relaxes. ... She makes you feel like a winner, and when a horse makes you feel like a winner, you are one."
Newstead Stables likely felt like big winners following the race as they picked up their first graded win. Laurelin, who was bred in Ireland by M. H. Dixon and Mount Coote Estates, has now earned $571,250. She is out of the winning Cape Cross mare Bari.
"She always seemed like she had ability, so we weren't too surprised when she won first time out," said Motion's assistant trainer, Ian Wilson. "But then to come back and win a stake, (then) come back off a layoff and win a stake and just keep winning, is pretty cool.
"You don't take any of the wins for granted, and to have a filly that has won her first five starts in a row is unbelievable."
Fourth-place finisher Go Go Boots, who was battling for the place spot before abruptly being pulled up by jockey Jose Ortiz right before the wire, was transported back to trainer Miguel Clement's barn in an equine ambulance. Clement's account on X later stated that there was no fracture and that she would be further assessed for possible soft tissue damage, noting she was resting comfortably in her stall.
