Clicquot (outside) outruns Dry Powder for her victory in the Grade 1. (Ryan Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)
Anthony Affrunti/Parx Racing
BENSALEM, Pa.—Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion at Parx Racing offered eight 3-year-old filles a chance. Their connections were hopeful for a variety of reasons. For some, it went according to plan. For others, it did not.
X-Men Racing IV, Madaket Stable and SF Racing’s Clicquot, making just her fifth start and first since July, wrestled victory away from Gold Square’s Dry Powder in the final yards and won the 1 1/16 mile-long contest by a neck under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. over the fast main track.
Trained by Brendan Walsh, the gray daughter of Quality Road was making her first Grade 1 start against a field that included three Grade 1 winners. Clicquot was coming off her best performance, a 4-length victory in the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks July 5 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
That race confirmed what Walsh believed she could show all along.
“We knew she was improving, Walsh said amid the celebration. “It’s easy to say it now, but for her to come and beat these fillies, a relatively lightly raced filly, I thought it was quite an accomplishment.”
Victory was not a lock. Dry Power, another fresh-faced filly who has shown early flashes of class and competition for trainer Chad Summers, was returning from her victory in the $200,000 Cathryn Sophia over the Parx oval in August.
The Gold Square-owned daughter by Gun Runner seemed as if she would not relent her head advantage approaching the wire. She barely yielded, with Clicquot winning by a neck over Dry Powder, with 42-1 longshot Ourdaydreaminggirl third. Scottish Lassie, the 15 1/2-length winner of the Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga Race Course, finished fourth. Multiple Grade 1 winner La Cara settled for fifth, and Good Cheer, the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner, finished sixth.
“To run this race against three Grade 1 winners and an up-and-coming Clicquot, you couldn’t ask for a better race than that,” Summers said with mixed emotions. “It’s painful to lose a million-dollar race like that especially when she gallops out back in front after the wire, but she always runs a good race.”
La Cara, as expected, took the field along on the front end through an opening quarter in :23.73 and a half in :47.38. Dry Powder, under California-based rider Antonio Fresu, stalked in second, while Indy Bay and Good Cheer traded spots in behind. Dry Powder took the lead at the three-quarter mark in 1:10.50 to the outside of the tiring La Cara.
Clicquot, busy launching her run, had collared Dry Powder, while the Louis Linder Jr.-trained Ourdaydreaminggirl, one of two Parx-based runners, was rallying from last under Eliseo Ruiz with a mile timed in 1:36.14. A photo-finish separated the duel and Clicquot won in 1:42.85 to improve to 4-for-5.
“They rolled along pretty good,” said Walsh. “She was a little keen going down the back, but Irad gave her a lovely ride. She maybe got there a little too soon in hindsight because she started to pull herself up a little bit maybe through inexperience. But when those fillies came at her again, she found a little bit more.”
Linder, who had been high on his filly’s talent, saw what he thought he would from the daughter by Instagrand who was making her graded stakes debut after finishing second in the Cathryn Sophia.
“I wish it was a couple of steps longer, but I’m very pleased with the effort. We knew there was more to her and she’s showing it,” Linder said.
Trainer Jorge Abreu expected a similar effort that put Scottish Lassie in the winners’ circle in the Grade 1 Frizette and Coaching Club American Oaks. She went off as the 8-5 favorite. He didn’t get it.
“He (jockey Joel Rosario) said she didn’t want to be that far behind,” Abreu said. “He said she broke a little cold today. I don’t think she ran a bad race. It happens. We’ll regroup.”
Clicquot paid $12.60, $6.60 and $4.80.
Quotes
Winning trainer Brendan Walsh (Clicquot): “We knew she was improving. It’s easy to say it now, but for her to come and beat these fillies, a relatively lightly raced filly, I thought it was quite an accomplishment from her. They rolled along pretty good. She was a little keen going down the back, but Irad gave her a lovely ride. He just let her settle into herself. She traveled beautifully into the straight. She maybe got there a little too soon in hindsight because she started to pull herself up a little bit maybe through inexperience. But when those fillies came at her again, she found a little bit more.”
Was the Cotillion the plan after the Indiana Oaks? “We had the plan the whole time along, to go here if she won at Indiana and give her a chance. She’s been working unbelievably well. Like a top-class horse does. You can see by her demeanor she’s just all class. I can’t say enough about her. She makes our job easy.”
“When you’re going in against three Grade 1 winners you’re always, we’ve gotten our butts kicked enough at this stage to know it’s not going to be easy. You are confident enough in her. Like I said, she makes our job easy because she does it all for you.”
Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Clicquot): “Dream trip. I got a really nice trip, right where we wanted, close to the leaders and saving some ground. She did the rest. She’s a nice filly. She responded really well, then she hesitated a little bit when she made the lead. She got the job done. I think she has a little more in the tank.”
Winning owner Mike Goetz of X-Men Racing IV LLC (wearing a T-shirt that read “Clicquot 2025 Cotillion winner”): “She’s been training like a freaking phenom, but this field was unbelievable. She’s been training with Gosger, who’s running in the next race (Pennsylvania Derby) and she’s been manning up to him.”
What about the T-shirt? “I had it made in Boston last week on the way back from Martha’s Vineyard. Just in case. Good karma. I just knew there’s potential here. It kind of played out like we thought it would. She’s an athlete. She’s only five races in and she’s 4-for-5. She’s got a long way to go. We could see some more upside.”
Trainer Chad Summers (Dry Powder, second): “To run in this race against three Grade 1 winners and an up-and-coming Cliquot, you couldn’t ask for a better race than that. It’s painful to lose a million-dollar race like that especially when she gallops out back in front after the wire, but she always runs a good race except for that one start (Coaching Club America Oaks) but you can throw that out. I’m proud of her, well see how she comes out of it.”
“We knew La Cara wanted to be in front. Luis Saez (Good Cheer) knew our filly, and he kind of pushed us to use ourselves a little bit more, but I feel that Antonio (Fresu) did the right thing because otherwise you’re going to get hung five-wide, so he so he had to kind of put her in to save a little ground into that far turn. I thought he rode a perfect race. I’m very proud of him.”
“She’s come close in some of these stakes races. We won the Cathryn Sofia, but we just have to get to work a little bit. I didn’t think we’ve seen the best of her yet. She’s still young. I think you saw what these horses were able to do. I’m super proud of her. She’s still a little young. Theres some things we need to work on, to me we got to learn and get better. Whether it’s six weeks from now or it’s in the La Brea, or next year in the Apple Blossom, there’s many things to choose from. I’m just super proud of the filly and the opportunity Al Gold has given me with this filly and the patience that they’ve shown to set up a race like this. This was our goal all year, and we miss by a neck.”
Trainer Louis Linder Jr. (Ourdaydreaminggirl, third): “We thought we could be closer, but he said they were just going too quick, so he let her settle and asked her for her late run, and she came with it. I wish it was a couple of steps longer, but I’m very pleased with the effort. We knew there was more to her and she’s showing it.”
Trainer Jorge Abreu (Scottish Lassie, fourth): “(Jockey Joel Rosario) said she didn’t want to be that far behind. He said she broke a little cold today; he said the track was a little bit deeper than it was earlier. Then he told me if we take her to Del Mar, it’s a different surface there. He told me, ‘I don’t think she ran a bad race.’ It happens. We’ll regroup.”
Jockey Joel Rosario (Scottish Lassie, fourth): “It looked like the speed was on the outside, if I get her to go maybe they would come over on me so I might wind up in a bad spot. Maybe she did want to be a little closer. She came. She made a nice move going into the turn, with that trip. Seems like the track is a little heavier now than before. We’ll look forward to the next race.”
Jockey Luis Saez (Good Cheer, sixth): “Good trip, perfect trip. She just didn’t finish. I’m a little disappointed. Usually, she shows a good turn of foot at the half mile but today it seemed like she was not handling the track that well. She kept coming but she was not giving me everything. That’s racing.”
