Making her first start in the United States, Resolute Racing's Village Voice displayed an impressive turn of foot down the lane and swept by her rivals to win the $175,000 Waya Stakes (G3T) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Dylan Davis, the 5-year-old Zarak mare sat third-last in a strung-out field of 10 while Big Beautiful set fractions of :23.74, :48.55, and 1:14.26. Davis had to be patient around the far turn for space to open, swinging wide into the clear as they entered the stretch.
It was a roughly run race in front of him, with several rivals bumping in mid-stretch. One of those bumps from Alluring Angel caused Beach Bomb to shift into Village Voice's path, but Davis kept his mount's momentum rolling until they hit the wire a neck clear of Beach Bomb. Alluring Angel held third.
Village Voice completed 1 3/8 miles in 2:15.71, paying $10.08 to win.
"(Brown told me) to just be mindful of the year layoff and save ground," Davis told New York Racing Association publicity. "Once I moved up, it put some pressure on the other riders to make some moves and forced them into positions where I was able to work my way out on the outside. I was really happy with the way it panned out. She finished off strong, and that was off a year layoff, so she should definitely improve off of that."
Bred in Great Britain by Malih Al Basti and a group 3 winner in France, Sunday's victory marked Village Voice's first start in nearly a year. Resolute's John Stewart purchased her for $1,727,463 at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
Stewart had gone across the pond with the goal of finding talented runners who would fit in the Keeneland meets. Another of those purchases, Kuwaitya, won her first start in 14 months: a 5 1/2-furlong allowance in Lexington just 10 minutes after the Waya.
"I was specifically looking for horses I thought could run well at Keeneland," Stewart told BloodHorse in the Keeneland winner's circle. "I was looking for horses that had a good turn of foot, that could take a little bit softer ground. I went over there and bought a bunch of horses to really focus on that. She won up there (at Aqueduct), which is fine, but it just goes to show you that the purchases that we made are finally starting to get acclimated to U.S. racing and they're doing well."
With her American debut under her belt, Stewart hopes to enter Village Voice in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) at Del Mar Nov. 1. He has high hopes for her talents as she was working alongside Diana Stakes (G1T) winner Excellent Truth, who was retired earlier this week with an injury.
"Chad was higher on her than he even was Excellent Truth," Stewart said.
