Well, we finished where we should have statistically, in 9th place.  The race was a grade 3 stake, and some really high quality horses were in it.

Sassy was the 10 horse, coming out of the 9th hole since one horse scratched.  Our plan was to hustle a little on the front end to get her to a good spot near the rail since she tends to be quick out of the gate.  We were hoping to settle about 3 lengths off the lead, so she wouldn’t have to race wide the entire way around against such high-end company.

Well, the rider took her all the way to the front, which is not really where we wanted to be.  In the event that he ended up there, he had instructions to hold the pace back as much as possible.  The pace was approximately 12 second furlongs, which is a pretty slow pace, and she should have had energy left to carry her through, but it seems that the turf may not have been as firm as it was listed, so that pace may have been a bit tiring.

Regardless, she was on the rail and quietly leading, and when it came time to make a push for the end, she backed off.  She didn’t look exhausted based on her posture, but she decided that she was finished, and the field passed her.  It was a little disappointing as we would have liked to see her making a run at the end, not fading.  She came out of the race well, not too tired, and we’ll have more info on how she feels under saddle later this week.

The good news is that we got to race and Sassy came out of it well.  As you know, we had to scratch three times in June due to the race being pulled off turf.  On July 4th, Sassy was cross entered in a Delaware allowance, and that race was also pulled off turf, so that would have been her fourth scratch for rain in a row had we opted for the allowance instead of the stake.

We’re glad she got a race in, even if her finish was not spectacular, and now we’re hoping that July is a lot drier.

Go Sassy!