Ridden by Paco Lopez, My Sweet Natalie broke from the starting gate sharply and gained a quick lead over her nine rivals. Never challenged, she drew off down the stretch of the five-furlong turf race to win by five lengths over Jungle Jill. Wild Actress finished third.
Winning trainer’s quotes:
Wesley Ward (via telephone from Saratoga Springs) – “I didn’t even see the race. I’m not at the track (Saratoga). I thought the race would be run later in the day and I wasn’t in a hurry to get to the track. The next thing I know, Alan (Hunter, Jr., who saddled the filly for Ward) was on the phone telling me how easy she won. That’s just great. I’ve got a wonderful partner in her with Ray Feldman and the filly is named after his wife, Natalie. I also own the sire (Bring the Heat) and we won the race with a filly by him last year (Excessive Heat), so we thought this one would like the turf. She’s got a turf foot. We’ll probably keep her there for the Catcharisingstar (Sept. 6), which Excessive Heat won, too.”
Winning jockey’s quotes:
Paco Lopez – “I didn’t really get any instructions from the trainer (Wesley Ward), other than to let her break how ever she wanted to and put her in a position where she was running comfortably. She broke out of the gate so fast that we had no choice except to be in front and she felt comfortable right there. Once we were on the lead I could tell she would win and by the time we reached the quarter pole, I had so much horse that I was looking around for someone to challenge us, but she pulled away as easily as she wanted to.”
About the Georgia Juvenile Filly Turf Dash:
The Georgia Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association is a non-profit organization that promotes the Thoroughbred industry in Georgia and sponsors this series of races at Calder (Georgia Stakes Series). The races are funded by GTOBA's Stallion Season Auction. Only the progeny of stallions donated to the auction are eligible for these stakes races. The Stonewall Stallions Georgia Oaks is also part of this program. A third race, the Live Oak Georgia Debutante Stakes, is held during the Tropical Meet.
