Stress Relief settled off the pace under Junior Alvarado and swept past Luminous Beauty to win the Grade 3 Adirondack by 3 1/2 lengths at Saratoga. (Chelsea Durand/NYRA)
Mary Eddy
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – First-year trainer Kinnon LaRose enjoyed his first graded stakes win when Joel Politi’s Kentucky homebred Stress Relief ran down Luminous Beauty in the stretch for a 3 1/2-length score in Sunday’s Grade 3, $225,000 Adirondack, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for juvenile fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.
LaRose, 28, is from the upstate New York town of Ogdensburg, and grew up attending the races at the Spa. He worked for trainer Tom Amoss for several years until his retirement earlier this year, and took out his trainer’s license to assume command of the sizable stable on April 1, notching his first career win nine days later at Keeneland.
The conditioner expressed his joy in winning his first graded event at Saratoga.
“No better place to do it,” he said. “I wish Joel Politi was here with his family, but my wife is here, my mom and my dad, and my brothers are here. We had a bunch of friends here. It’s a special place. I grew up coming here as a kid, and I never thought I would be in this position, but I’m just very grateful.”
The Not This Time dark bay entered from a debut maiden victory sprinting five furlongs on June 20 at Churchill Downs, where she pressed the pace en route to the five-length score. She changed up tactics on Sunday, sitting patiently off the topflight under Junior Alvarado and showing impressive late foot.
“When she broke her maiden at Churchill, Joel Politi was there with his family, and he looked at me and said, ‘can’t wait for the Adirondack,’” LaRose recalled. “For us to be able to get here and [have] everything go right, we got lucky. She’s a classy filly and she ran a great race. Junior rode her perfectly.”
Luminous Beauty broke evenly from post 5 under Jose Morelos, but found her footing and was soon in command with Caroline’s Girl keeping close watch just behind through the opening quarter-mile in 21.99 seconds over the fast dirt with Stress Relief a wide and patient fourth.
Stress Relief inched closer through the half-mile in 45.40, and was in prime position three-wide as Caroline’s Girl shifted in and spun her wheels behind a determined Luminous Beauty straightening for home. 51-1 longshot Bandmaster attempted to advance up the inside and Scarlett Begonia made a belated run in the two-path through three-quarters in 1:10.70, but Stress Relief had all the momentum to sweep past the gritty pacesetter and draw clear to the comfortable score in a final time of 1:17.45.
“I worked her last week, it was an easy work, but I was very pleased with her,” Alvarado said. “[This was] a step up in company against horses that had been running probably more than her, but I mean, she was up to the task today. She responded very well. She was kind of close to the pace, and when I asked her, she was there for me, finished up very nice.”
Luminous Beauty dug in for second by a neck over Scarlett Begonia with Bandmaster another 1 3/4 lengths back in fourth. Prime Aurora, the favored Pierette, Washton and Caroline’s Girl completed the order of finish.
Almighty One was pulled up on the backstretch by jockey Manny Franco, who felt she was not traveling well, and the filly was provided a ride back to the barn area in the equine ambulance.
LaRose said he was confident Stress Relief would be able to make a run from off the pace after her prominent debut.
“We talked to Joel about that, talked to Junior. Junior came and worked her last week and got a feel for her,” LaRose said. “He really liked the way she worked. She’s a very versatile filly. She’s young, but at the same time she seems like she can really adapt to what we throw at her. She’s just a pleasure to train.”
The next local spot for juvenile dirt fillies is the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on September 5, a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
“We’ll see,” LaRose said. “We’ll take it day by day with her. Definitely on the radar, that’s for sure.”
Out of the Amoss-trained and Politi-campaigned dual stakes-winning Ghostzapper mare Littlestitious, Stress Relief banked $123,750 in victory and boosted her total bankroll to $192,246. She returned $14.22 on a $2 win ticket.
Live racing resumes Wednesday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial steeplechase in Race 1 and the state-bred $200,000 Johnstone in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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