Cy Fair Gets Back to Winning Ways in Mamzelle

Cy Fair turned the tables on Slay the Day April 30 with a victory in the Mamzelle Stakes (G3T) at Churchill Downs. In the 5 1/2-furlong turf race for 3-year-old fillies, the George Weaver trainee broke midpack and settled off the contested pace set by Midnight Martini with Thank You Amy in close pursuit. As that pair set opening fractions of :22.11 and :45.12, Cy Fair raced in fifth down the backstretch under a tight hold from jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., and on the turn for home, began to advance on the field. As the fillies hit the stretch, the daughter of Not This Time tipped outside rivals and began running them down. She collared Brian Lynch's Slay the Day in deep stretch and pulled away to score by a length on the wire. She completed the race in a final time of 1:01.90 on firm turf and paid $3.98 for the win. "George (Weaver) said, 'Don't be on the lead.' Last time (in the Limestone at Keeneland) I went to the front and we got beat." Ortiz said. "This time I took a hold on her out of the gate. She was pulling hard but I had her. Then I cut her loose and she went just like she was supposed to." Owned by Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts, and Mark Stanton, Cy Fair defeated males in winning last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar. Her first start of this season came in the April 10 Limestone Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland, where she finished second to Slay the Day. Both fillies came into the Mamzelle off just 20 days' rest for their rematch. "That is kind of what we hope she would do, settle a little bit better," Phillip Shelton of Medallion Racing said. "Once she turned in the lane and switched leads, it was kind of all over. She's a special horse, and all credit goes to George and his team, and they made the decision to run her back here." Earlier on the April 30 "Thurby" card at Churchill Downs were the Opening Verse Stakes and the St. Matthews Overnight Stakes. In the Opening Verse, Lagynos narrowly got up in the final strides for his third consecutive win. As the 6-5 favorite, the 5-year-old son of Kantharos raced midpack and came under a drive in the stretch, splitting rivals to defeat Chasing the Crown by a nose. The Steve Asmussen trainee, owned by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, completed the mile on the turf in a final time of 1:34.12 and paid $4.54 to win. One race later in the St. Matthews, Maximum Bourbon, trained by Phil D'Amato, took the lead after a half-mile under confident handling and never looked back, scoring by 5 3/4 lengths on the wire as the post-time favorite. Owned by Agave Racing Stable, Rockin Robin Racing Stables, and Evan Trommer, the son of Maximum Security completed the 6 furlongs on a fast main track in 1:08.81 and paid $3.92 for a $2 wager.