Nic’s Style. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
By Lynne Snierson
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Prohibitive favorite Nic’s Style made it look as easy as pie when she drew off and kicked clear through the lane for an impressive victory in Sunday’s $150,000 Listed Pumpkin Pie for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on Closing Day of the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott for Stephen Rousseau, the 4-year-old daughter of Canada’s 2012 Horse of the Year Uncaptured was sent postward at 1-2 in the field of seven. Under a patient ride by Junior Alvarado, she sat comfortably just off the flank of St. Benedicts Prep, who was ridden by Jose Lezcano, as they set splits of 22.61, 45.75 and 1:10.12 in the seven-furlong test. When they reached the top of the lane, Alvarado gave Nic’s Style her cue and she responded by opening up a 1 1/2 length advantage and then widened her lead to the wire to finish 3 1/4 lengths in front of 16-1 choice Dazzling Move, who was closing willingly.
Zadorsky, dispatched at 13-1 was third, another 3 3/4 lengths back. St. Benedicts Prep, Rachel’s Rock, Braganza, and Khali Magic completed the order of finish. Just Katherine was scratched.
Nic’s Style’s final time on the fast track was a sharp 1:22.51 for the seven furlongs.
“She broke sharp. She broke very good. I thought it was between me and Lezcano to be the speed of the race,” Alvarado said. “He kept sending from the inside, so I sat off, but right there. My filly was really relaxed and comfortable the whole way around. When we hit the quarter-pole, I asked her for a run and she quickly responded and turning for home, did it on her own after that. She knew what to do.”
The filly, who was making just her fifth career start, all under Alvarado, had won her first three races by a combined 22 1/4 lengths and all were gate to wire. Racing behind a pacesetter was a new tactic for Nic’s Style, whose only loss was in her previous effort when she was the runner-up to Ways and Means in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom on this track September 29. Ways and Means finished fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Saturday at Del Mar.
On the change of running style Alvarado said, “It was a question mark. We’ve been working her a little off the pace in the mornings. But sometimes it never translates the same into the afternoon. I’m glad that we practiced that in the morning. She was very good today. She handled it fine. She was OK sitting off the pace. Like I said, she relaxed for me and was there for me when I asked her for a run.”
The Florida-bred Nic’s Style, who is out of the Street Sense mare Sense When, was a $25,000 buy at the 2021 OBS 2-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale. With the $82,500 winner’s share of the purse she upped her bankroll to $268,500. The lightly raced, first-time stakes winner now boasts a record of 5 4-1-0. She returned $3.00 for a $2 win bet.
The filly was trained by Ralph Nicks in her first two races before joining Mott’s stable this year and making a winning first start for him August 17 at Saratoga.
“It’s been a long road. I want to thank Bill Mott and his team for doing a great job with her and I’d also like to thank Ralph Nicks – he persevered with her from Day One. He picked her out for me, and we really were patient with her,” said Rousseau. “I think she’s really proved herself. All throughout her career, she’s had these minor issues, but Ralph always told me, ‘give her some time.’ She overcame everything and now we have a nice, clean 4-year-old turning five next year. Hopefully, we’ll win some nice races with her.
“With all her speed, you figure she would run off each time, but she seems to really come back to him [Junior Alvarado] nicely whenever he wants her to,” Rousseau added. “Ralph always thought she would get up to a mile – I think seven-eighths, we’ll stick with that for a while.”
Leana Willaford, assistant to Bill Mott, was equally pleased with the filly.
“She ran like she was supposed to. The four [St. Benedicts Prep] was the other obvious speed. We told Junior to play the break and take it from there. She’s a very nice filly. I’ve only been around her a little bit, but she’s got a lot of class about her,” she said.
Live racing resumes on Thursday at Aqueduct Racetrack with an eight-race card. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.
