Royal Spa earns elusive stakes victory under a skillful ride by Michael Sanchez in Heavenly Cause. (Jim McCue/TMJC)
Dan Illman/Laurel Park
LAUREL, Md. – If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
That’s been trainer Rodolphe Brisset’s motto with the talented Royal Spa, who entered the Heavenly Cause for fillies and mares at one mile with four wins, three stakes placings, one Grade 3 placing, and no victories against stakes company.
That all changed on Saturday as Royal Spa, skillfully ridden by Mychel Sanchez, took the field gate-to-wire.
After Malibu Moonshine, Vincey Girl, Takethemoneyhoney, Intrepid Dream and Oncourtcommentator scratched, the Heavenly Cause lacked a pacesetter.
Enter Royal Spa, who had never made the lead at the pace call in any of her prior 16 starts. Sanchez was semi-aggressive leaving the chute and Royal Spa set a tepid opening quarter of 25.47 seconds while racing outside of Opus Forty Two.
Royal Spa cleared off through a half-mile clocking of 49.04 while racing off the inside, turned into the stretch in front after six furlongs in 1:14.24, then was under siege from both sides.
Catherine Wheel, in from New York for trainer Chad Brown, attempted to slip up the rail while multiple stakes-winner Sea Dancer, wheeling back in one week, made a three-wide bid.
Royal Spa brushed back those challenges passing the first wire, then braced for Regaled’s powerful late stretch rally. Regaled made it very close, but the wire came in the nick of time for Royal Spa, who scored by a neck in 1:39.64 and returned $4.80 as the betting favorite.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get this stakes win,” Brisset said by telephone from Keeneland. “On paper, it looked like there was absolutely zero speed. So, I told the rider to break out of there and if nobody wants it, go ahead.”
Sanchez was impressed with Royal Spa’s ability to change up her running style.
“I gave her a little warmup, and she was class all the way around,” Sanchez said. “I felt like I had a really nice pace going and [thought] they were going to have trouble to go by me. She was comfortable all the way around. She fought all the way through.”
Catherine Wheel finished third, 1 ¼ lengths behind Regaled. Sea Dancer, Bailintin and Opus Forty Two were next.
Royal Spa is a 5-year-old Violence homebred owned by Breffni Farm. Her dam, Bodacious Babe, by Mineshaft, won the Margate Stakes sprinting at Gulfstream in 2016.
With the win, Royal Spa now boasts $564,672 in earnings
