Mashallah win clinches Jockey title for Manny Franco, NYRA Photo
Keith McCalmont
Mashallah helped jockey Manny Franco clinch his first meet title at Saratoga Race Course with a much-the-best score in Sunday’s Grade 3, $225,000 Prioress, a six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.
Trained by Brendan Walsh for JR Ranch, the Maxfield bay, off as the 2-5 mutuel favorite, was expertly handled by Franco with a patient stalking trip, taking over through the turn and powering away to score by five lengths and provide Franco his 68th win of the meet – one better than Flavien Prat, who is riding today and Monday at Kentucky Downs.
“That was a nice performance,” said Franco, who was aboard Mashallah for the first time in the afternoon. “I had the chance to work her in the morning, and I knew I had horse under me.
“That was one accomplishment I have on my bucket list, and, finally, we made it,” Franco added regarding the elusive jockey’s title. “I’m just happy [for] everyone who was involved [in] this. To my agent, too, John Panagot.”
Vekoma’s Diva broke alertly under Junior Alvarado and showed the way through an opening quarter-mile in 22.69 seconds over the fast main track with Mashallah to her outside in second. Mashallah ranged up late in the turn through a half-mile in 45.93 and cruised to the front, finding more down the lane under left-handed encouragement and striding home an easy winner in a final time of 1:09.93.
The Edgard Zayas-piloted Mythical, winner of the Grade 3 Adirondack here last summer, split rivals at the top of the lane and closed well to complete the exacta by one length over Hen Party with Minute by Minute and Vekoma’s Diva rounding out the order of finish. Goodall was scratched.
Zayas said the Jorge Delgado-trained Mythical may have been hampered having exited the inside post.
“I think she ran a really good race. The filly that won, she’s really nice and kicked on in the stretch,” Zayas said. “I think we were a little compromised with the post position, had to take back. The two [Vekoma’s Diva] just broke faster than her and I had to take back and set her in the pocket, but I think she ran a really good race. She always tries.”
Franco has enjoyed a marquee summer at the Spa with Grade 1 scores in the Christophe Clement Turf with the mare Survie, the Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales with My Gun’s Loaded and the DraftKings Travers with Leading Change. Franco won a record-equaling six races on a single card on August 7 here as part of a memorable day that saw the 31-year-old native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, capture the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame aboard Bottas.
An emotional Franco celebrated clinching the title as he crossed the wire aboard the brilliant Mashallah.
“It means everything,” Franco said. “I [won] Aqueduct, Belmont, but I wanted this one, for sure. This is the best jockey colony right now. Doing it here is exciting.”
The record for wins by a jockey at a 40-day Saratoga summer is 68, a feat accomplished by Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez in 2012, who rode on 39 of the 40 cards [288 mounts], leaving town on August 18 of that year to win the Grade 1 Arlington Million with Little Mike.
Franco has reached 68 wins having competed on 43 of the 44 cards on offer during a summer meet that was expanded to allow for the construction of a new Belmont Park. Franco was out of town on August 1 to ride on the Arlington Million card at Colonial Downs, winning a trio of stakes topped by a score in the Grade 2 Secretariat with Supercharger.
Mashallah, a $1.25 million OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase, entered from a frontrunning romp in the seven-furlong Tyson Gilpin on August 1 at Colonial Downs in her stakes debut. She has now won 4-of-5 starts with the lone loss coming with a distant fifth when stretched out to one-mile at second asking in May at Churchill Downs.
The talented bay earned a field-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure for her sparkling debut in April at Keeneland, and was seven-length optional-claiming winner here July 4.
Ramiro Restrepo, racing and bloodstock manager for JR Ranch, said he was thrilled with the performance by Mashallah.
“From the time we bought her at the 2-year-old sale, where she flashed an amazing breeze [9.4 seconds], to her debut and every race thereafter, she’s just done everything the right way other than the little mile hiccup, but every race she’s gone through the progression, kind of like the old school boxers, right,” Restrepo said. “You want to take them through the ladder and she graduated another step today. I’m thrilled for the owners Jose Aguirre and Rina Camargo. They’re in Europe at the moment, but they’re watching and really happy, so I’m thrilled for them.”
Restrepo indicated Mashallah could point to the seven-furlong Grade 2 Raven Run on October 17 at Keeneland.
Mashallah, out of the winning Quiet American mare All in With Aces, is a half-sister to Grade 1-winning millionaire Hard Aces and Grade 3-placed Astrollinthepark. She banked $123,750 in victory and returned $2.96 for a $2 win ticket.
Live racing resumes Monday at Saratoga for Closing Day of the summer meet with a 12-race card featuring the $200,000 Funny Cide in Race 10 and the $200,000 Gio Ponti in Race 11. First post is 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
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