Flor de Sombra scores another stakes win, capturing the $200K Shamrock Rose (Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)
By Amber Joyce
GRANTVILLE, Pa.— Joseph M. Imbesi’s homebred Flor de Sombra added a third stakes win to her strong resume when taking the $200K Shamrock Rose Friday at Penn National.
Bobbling slightly at the start, Flor de Sombra chased the pace four-wide as the seven juvenile fillies traveled up the backstretch in the six-furlong affair. Following splits of 21.69 and 45.29 set by 3-2 post-time favorite Late Frost, Flor de Sombra surged forward to challenge for the lead.
The Guadalupe Preciado trainee easily took command at the eighth pole and drew away under right-handed urging by Mychel Sanchez to score by four and three-quarter lengths. Having covered five furlongs in 58.29, Flor de Sombra stopped the clock in 1:12.01.
Late Frost was clearly second-best, finishing three lengths ahead of 13-1 shot Lindalovesgold. Completing the order of finish were I Came to Dance, Celtic Tiger, 3-1 third-choice Midnight Parade (who was vanned off after the race; condition unknown as of the writing of this article), and Titoschangedmyluck. Organized Chaos was scratched.
At final odds of 8-5, Flor de Sombra paid $5.20, $2.80, and $2.40. Late Frost rewarded $2.60 and $3.00, while Lindalovesgold offered $4.60 to show.
Flor de Sombra’s victory in the Shamrock Rose came a month after a win in the $100K Finest City at Presque Isle, in which she made up for a disappointing third in Parx’s $200K Imply. In August at Parx, she notched her first stakes score, winning the $200K Miss Blue Tye Dye. That milestone victory followed a seven-and-a-quarter length wire-to-wire romp on debut.
Overall, Flor de Sombra has amassed earnings of $290,600 in her five-race career.
A Pennsylvania-bred daughter of graded stakes-placed stallion Social Inclusion, Flor de Sombra is out of On a Star, a six-time winner by Talent Search.
