Bill Mott Trainee Returns in Florida Sire Stakes Fillies Finale
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Anticipation for Outfoxed’s next start began building the very instant the Bill Mott-trained filly crossed the finish line 13 ½ lengths clear of her competition in her FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series debut Aug. 28 at Gulfstream Park.
The visually stunning and utterly dominating manner in which she graduated in the $200,000 Susan’s Girl immediately raised the question: What could LNJ Foxwoods’ 2-year-old filly possibly do for an encore?
The question is about to be answered?
Outfoxed is scheduled to make her highly anticipated return to action in Saturday’s $400,000 My Dear Girl at Gulfstream Park, where the 1 1/16-mile FSS finale for juvenile fillies will co-headline Saturday’s program with the $400,000 In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile open division FSS finale.
The Florida-bred filly, who was purchased for $360,000 at the OBS April 2-year-olds-in-training sale, looked like a bargain buy while making her second career start in the seven-furlong second leg of the lucrative series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions.
After taking some coaxing to load into the gate, Outfoxed settled off the pace under Edgard Zayas before making an eye-catching five-wide sweep on the turn into the stretch and drawing off with complete authority. She ran seven furlongs in 1:23.81, more than a second faster than it took Octane to complete the distance of the FSS Affirmed against colts and geldings two races later.
Did the manner in which she overwhelmed her 10 rivals in the Susan’s Girl prompt her connections to consider bypassing the My Dear Girl in favor of running her in a graded stakes elsewhere?
“We never really discussed it,” Mott said. “Everyone agreed we’d take advantage of the races available to her. She’s eligible for these spots, and that’s what was decided.”
It would have been understandable if Outfoxed’s connections had decided to run her in a graded-stakes, considering that she entered the Susan’s Girl off a late-closing third-place finish behind Echo Zulu in a Saratoga maiden special weight race. Echo Zulu went on to win the Spinaway (G1) in her next start.
“We liked her first race at Saratoga,” Mott said. “Even though she didn’t win, she closed well.”
Could her dazzling graduation in the Susan’s Girl have come a bit too easy for Outfoxed with reference to her preparedness for the My Dear Girl?
“Obviously, you don’t know how she’s going to do but, if it’s the same group, I figure she did enough [last time],” Mott said. “A lot of times, you can be confused. It looks like they’re doing it easy, but they still have to run.”
Gulfstream-based trainer Ralph Nicks, a former Mott assistant, has been overseeing Outfoxed’s preparation for her return.
“She’s had a couple works. She had a decent work the other day [with Ralph],” Mott said. “The first one was pretty easy, but she had a pretty good one the other day.”
Even at her very best, Outfoxed will need to prove she can reproduce the brilliance she showed in the Susan’s Girl in a two-turn race such as the My Dear Girl.
“I’m not worried too much. It looks like it shouldn’t be too much of a problem the way she ran the other day, but they always have to do it,” Mott said. “But she went seven-eighths the other day and she went pretty well.”
Outfoxed is the first winner for her first-crop sire Valiant Minister, a $680,000 son of Candy Ride who retired from racing after winning his six-furlong debut at Santa Anita for trainer Bob Baffert in January 2017.
Zayas has the return call on Outfoxed, who drew the No. 1 post position.
Champion Equine LLC’s My Sassenach, who was victorious in the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series, will seek to improve on a distant third-place finish in the Susan’s Girl Saturday. The David Braddy-trained daughter of Uncaptured raced in traffic before closing to finish third in the Susan’s Girl.
My Sassenach graduated in the six-furlong FSS Desert Vixen, shaking off a bumping incident at the start before romping to an 8 ¼-length triumph.
Miguel Vasquez has the return call on the filly who finished second in her debut prior to entering the FSS series.
Chacalosa will be the new FSS face Saturday while making her Gulfstream debut off an open-stakes victory in the Arlington Lassie. The daughter of Jess’s Dream graduated with a late-closing 36-1 upset victory in the seven-furlong sprint over Arlington Park’s synthetic surface for owner/trainer Earl Hughes. The Florida-bred filly, who was winless in her two previous career starts, is scheduled to make her debut for Arlington Park’s leading trainer Larry Rivelli in the My Dear Girl.
Emisael Jaramillo is slated to ride the Arlington invader for the first time Saturday.
Trainer Daniel Pita’s Devilette, who set the pace before being overwhelmed by Outfoxed, will seek to improve on her second-place finish while trying two turns for the first time.
Pita, who saddled Princess Secret for a victory in last year’s My Dear Girl, has awarded the return mount aboard Khozan-sired Devilette to Cristian Torres.
Trainer Michael Yate’s Cajun Cousin is scheduled to make her stakes debut in the My Dear Girl following a second-place finish in an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream.
“She’s training fabulous. She has had three sprint races. She broke her maiden for a tag and came back in an A-other-than and finished second,” Yates said. “We thought the [Susan’s Girl] was too quick back. We just wanted to train up to the mile-and-a-sixteenth and see what happens.”
Jesus Rios has the call aboard the daughter of Cajun Breeze.
Trainer Roger Laurin’s Veiled Prophet, who finished fifth in the Susan’s Girl, enters the My Dear Girl off a second-place maiden special weight finish. The daughter of Uncaptured had previously finished second in her first two career starts prior to her off-the-board finish in the second FSS leg.
Luca Panici has the mount.
Wendell Yates and Ronald Brown’s Sequin Lady, who is winless in two starts, and Arindel’s Baby Blue, a three-race maiden, round out the field.
Gulfstream Park Press Release
Photo: Outfoxed the FSS Susan’s Girl, (Lauren King)
