Undefeated New York-bred Victorious by a Nose under Joel Rosario. (Susie Raisher)
Via the “Dirt Dozen” series, secured a credit towards entry fees for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
By Brian Bohl
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – CSLR Racing Partners and R.A. Hill Stable’s New York-bred Iron Orchard once again handled an elevation in class with aplomb, rallying from the outside in the stretch and holding off Rileytole by a nose to capture Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette for 2-year-old fillies contested at a one-turn mile on the dirt at Belmont at the Big A.
After winning her first two races serving as the pacesetter, Iron Orchard showed versatility in coming from off the speed to improve to 3-for-3 for trainer Danny Gargan. Under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario’s confident ride, the Authentic dark bay, via the “Dirt Dozen” series, secured a $30,000 credit towards entry fees for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar and also compiled 10 qualifying points to the 2026 Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks in May at Churchill Downs.
Breaking from post 6 as the slight second choice at 2-1, Iron Orchard sat behind favorite Carmel Coast’s early fractions as she led the 10-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.49 seconds, the half in 44.84 and three-quarters in 1:09.25 on the fast track.
Out of the turn, Carmel Coast maintained the lead before Steer Clear took over from the outside. But the short-lived advantage was negated when Rileytole surged up the rail while Iron Orchard made a strong move four-wide. The two linked up for the final sixteenth, with Iron Orchard prevailing in hitting the wire in 1:35.97 to remain undefeated.
Rileytole, trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., finished 4 1/4 lengths ahead of Five Bars for second while Steer Clear ran fourth. Lovely Christina, Carmel Coast, Jetty’s Home, Rina’s Revenge, and Chopsticks completed the order of finish. Icecreamforevryone was pulled up in the lane and provided a precautionary ride back to the barn area for further examination. Secane was scratched.
The 78th running of the prestigious Frizette offered 10-5-3-2-1 points to the top-five finishers for the Kentucky Oaks. As part of part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen series, the win provided Iron Orchard’s connections with a credit of $30,000 toward entry fees, with the second and third place finishers receiving credits of $15,000 and $7,500, respectively.
“Good trip. I thought she may go right to the lead, but it looked like she relaxed today,” said Rosairo, who has been aboard for every Iron Orchard start and won his third Frizette overall [2018-19 with Jaywalk and Wicked Whisper, respectively]. “Danny has done an excellent job with her. Everybody at the barn with her did a great job, so this was great…I was worried a little bit when she was so calm and relaxed today. She did awesome.”
Iron Orchard twice won as a frontrunner at Saratoga Race Course this summer, including a 5 1/2-length debut win July 3 in a 5 1/2-furlong sprint restricted to state-breds or horses that sold or RNA’d for $60,000 or less. She followed with a 6 3/4-length romp versus state-breds in the six-furlong Seeking the Ante on August 22.
“We changed the training on her – we’ve been training her a little harder, a little further,” Gargan said. “I’m not going to lie, I thought the first 200 yards into the race, ‘man, I’ve done a bad job training this filly,’ because she relaxed more than I wanted her to and I was a little nervous, but you’ve just got to look back and say ‘God, what a good ride.’ He [Rosario] didn’t engage all those horses, he sat. She’s difficult and was grabbing at the bridle with her head kind of cocked, but that’s her in the mornings also. I feel blessed that she pulled that off. You just have to look back and say thank you to everybody – the owners, all my help… she ran good.”
Purchased for $500,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, she is out of the multiple stakes-placed Brethren mare Onebrethatatime, who is a half-sister to Grade 3-winner Wonderlandbynight. She was bred by Pine Ridge Stable.
“Her being able to relax with her natural speed gives her another dimension, so she ran bigger than I thought,” Gargan said. “At the end, she dug in and won the race. She’s a talented filly, we’ve always known that. Today she showed another dimension, and it was really special. It was fun to watch.”
On Saturday, she returned $6.90 on a $2 win wager and improved her career earnings to $352,000.
“Right now, we’ll just be happy and enjoy this,” Gargan said. “She’s done a lot this year. I told the guys before; we’ll see how it goes. There’s next year – she’s a young filly. I think with the way she ran today, maybe in the future she might be able to go two turns, but I’m just happy with how it went today. I feel blessed. It’s the first horse I’ve trained for the Childs, so to win a Grade 1 with the first horse that you train for them [is special].
“We’ll have to talk to the owners,” Gargan continued regarding the Breeders’ Cup. “I think today, she showed that dimension, but you never know. We’ll see how she comes out of it and go from there. We’ll figure it out.”
Rileytole, by Mitole, graduated in her July 27 debut at Gulfstream Park by 1 1/2-lengths over next-out maiden winning stablemate Mystical Belle before running third in the Grade 1 Spinaway in August at the Spa. She has finished in the money in all three starts.
“Saffie had her great today, sharp,” said Rileytole jockey Reylu Gutierrez. “Good position, I didn’t expect to be that forward with the two [Carmel Coast] and Iron Orchard in the race. She broke sharp, ran really great, dug in, and deserved to win. I look forward to her future. She did a great job and I’m really proud of her.”
Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont at the Big A with a nine-race card featuring the Grade 3, $175,000 Waya in Race 6. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
