Aqueduct: Life Talk wins Demoiselle; Dr B takes Go For Wand

Life Talk made a bold statement in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle, a 1 1/8-mile event around two turns for 2-year-old fillies at Aqueduct.

Trainedby Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who won his record extending ninth Demoiselleand fourth in a row, Life Talk notched her first graded-stakes score with afront-running victory and earned 10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks (G1)in May.

ShimmeringAllure, the runner-up 3 3/4 lengths behind, earned five Oaks points, and theNew York-bred Dolomite picked up three points for finishing another lengthback.

LifeTalk, who chased probable champion Just F Y I in the Breeders’ Cup JuvenileFillies in November at Santa Anita and the Frizette (G1) in October on theAqueduct racing strip in her last two races, took advantage of her experiencearound two turns. Dispatched as the even-money favorite in the field of eight,the daughter of Gun Runner out of the Bernardini mare Touchy Feely left the gatealertly and, from then on, dictated the race on the front end while beingpiloted by a confident Irad Ortiz Jr.

WhenShimmering Allure, who was hung out wide on both turns, came at her inside theeighth pole, Life Talk had plenty left and responded by kicking clear.

Ownedby Repole Stable, Life Talk set moderate yet steady fractions of 24.10, 48.65,1:13.10 and 1.38.12 and crossed the wire at 1:51.10 for the 1 1/8 miles on amuddy, sealed track.

“Beautiful,beautiful, beautiful,” Ortiz said about the splits. “So relaxed waiting for me,three-eighths pole, I got nobody around, and I feel like I still have plenty. Idon’t call her yet. I don’t even move my hands on her, and as soon as I did,she took off, she responded.

“It is great to see her back inthis performance, because it was a great race (in the Breeders’ Cup), becauseshe ran so good to get beat last time. She got beat by three lengths, and shecome back maybe a little quick after that tough race, flies back all the wayhere. But we have a great team, they all do a great job, the assistants and thetrainer. She was 100 percent. She’s learning. She’s learning every time sheruns. We saw a little more experience, so I think it helps, because she brokeso clear, I didn’t have to use her too much. She was full of energy by thequarter pole.”

AmeliaGreen, assistant to Pletcher, said the game plan put together by the Hall ofFame trainer was executed to perfection by Ortiz.

“Withhow the track’s playing today, you need to get position, and like Irad said,she warmed up good, and he made the most of it,” Green said. “No one elsewanted the lead, so he made the most of that situation. She seemed happy outthere and did everything very professionally.”

ShimmeringAllure, who is trained by Kenny McPeek and was ridden by Júnior Alvarado, wonthe one-turn mile Tempted on Nov. 5 at Aqueduct but was second best Saturday.

"Ithink she gave me hell of a run today,” Alvarado said, “but the track was kindof playing speed, so I kind of had to break out of there and put her a bitcloser. Then I could’ve saved around the first turn. Coming into the secondturn I didn’t have any chance to go on the inside. I had to keep going verywide. She was very good today. She broke good. I asked her a little bit, andshe put herself very close. Normally she has been running a little bit off thepace from behind, and when she put herself in that position, I decided to staythere that close with her, since the track is playing a little fast today. Shenever gave up. She kept digging in all the way through the wire and was tryingto go after that horse in front."

Dolomite,an Alpha Delta Stables homebred trained by Chad Brown, was stepping way up inclass and distance after an impressive, seven-furlong, maiden win over thetrack Oct. 22.

“Myfilly ran really well,” Dolomite’s rider Manny Franco said of the third-placefinish. “I was happy with my trip. I was stalking and followed the winner thewhole way. I was just third-best. The winner was much the best.”

Most ofAll took two Oaks points for running fourth, and New York-bred Caldwell LuvsGold earned one point in fifth place. Vino Rouge, Ringy Dingy and Cozee Ragsrounded out the order of finish. Caress was scratched.

Bred inKentucky by Gun Runner Syndicate, Mulholland Springs and Tom Grether Farms,Life Talk banked $137,500 in victory while improving her record to 5: 2-1-1.She returned $4.00 for a $2 win bet.

Dr B leads from gate to wire in Go For Wand

Dr B made every pole a winning oneas she successfully defended her title in $200,000 Go for Wand (G3), a one-turnmile for fillies and mares.

Trained by Butch Reid and pilotedby José Lezcano, the 5-year-old Liam’s Map bay operated on a short lead overthe stalking Gerrymander but continued to find more throughout, opening up byfour lengths at the stretch call en route to a 3 3/4-length score over Tizzy inthe Sky.

“The track’s playing to speed, andshe likes the track very much,” Reid said. “A track just like this, a littlemoisture on the track, close to the same track last year, I believe. It workedout well.”

Dr B set splits of 22.56, 45.06and 1:09.78 with Gerrymander in second and Tizzy in the Sky watching patientlyfrom third. Gerrymander was given her cue by José Ortiz through the turn, and 3-2favorite Good Sam was asked to launch her rally by Irad Ortiz Jr.

Dr B put away Gerrymander at thetop of the lane and was relishing the wet going as she powered away from herrivals to score at a final time of 1:36.49.

Luis Sáez-piloted Tizzy in the Skypounced to complete the exacta by one length over the late-charging NewYork-bred Venti Valentine with Good Sam, who was reported to have bled, andGerrymander rounding out the order of finish. Saddle Up Jessie and Know It AllAudrey were scratched.

?Lezcano said the swift splits didn’t hamper Dr B.

“Yes it was moving, you know, but I think she is a very nicefilly,” Lezcano said. “She ran hard the whole way around. She was verycomfortable the first half, and I started asking a little bit, but she didpretty good for the whole way almost around.”

It was the first victory in sixstarts this season for Cash is King and LC Racing’s Dr B, who finished secondin both the Vagrancy (G3) in May at Belmont Park and the Honorable MissHandicap (G2) in July at Saratoga. She arrived from a distant fourth whentaking on the boys in the Parx Dirt Mile on Sept. 23.

Reid said Dr B, a gate-to-wirewinner of this event last year over sloppy, sealed footing, benefited from ashort break after the Parx Dirt Mile.

“We sent her to the farm for threeor four weeks at Patty Hogan’s place over in Jersey,” Reid said. “The grass wasnice, and she really prospered, put on some weight and came back fresh for justthe short break that it was.

“To hold her form that long, wegave her some time off after this race last year, it’s just great that she’sstill maintaining this level of competition to be able to compete at this levelShe’s just been an iron mare from the day we got her and has held that way sofar.”

Dr B, out of the graded-stakes placedProud Citizen mare Boleyn, is a half-sister to Reid-trained stakes winner StandUp Comic as well as stakes victor Hi Holiday.

Reid said Dr B, if she stays intraining, could point to the Interborough at Aqueduct in January with alonger-term goal of the Barbara Fritchie (G3) on Feb. 17 at Laurel Park.

“It’s possible,” Reid said. “Wehave our eye on the Barbara Fritchie as maybe one of her big dates we’d like tosee. We’ll need a race somewhere in between there and here, so that’s adefinite possibility.”

Pletcher-trained Tizzy in the Skyarrived from a close, runner-up effort in the 1 1/8-mile Turnback the Alarm atAqueduct on Nov. 3.

“I thought we were going to be onthe lead, but it seemed like when she broke from there, she didn’t really wantto do nothing,” Sáez said. “I had to be after her the whole way, but she keptcoming. When we got to the top of the stretch, she gave me a little run, but Idon’t know, I feel like she needs to go more distance.”

Bred in Kentucky by Eico Ventures,Dr B banked $110,000 in victory and improved her record to 22: 6-7-2. Shereturned $10.40 for a $2 win bet.