Mizz Money all heart in Gallorette

LTB and Hillerich Racing’s homebred Mizz Money has tactical speed, and better still, plenty of heart and determination. Those admirable qualities were on display in her hard-fought victory in last summer’s Pucker Up (G3) at Arlington, her split decisions in photo-finishes at Fair Grounds this season, and again in Saturday’s $150,000 Gallorette (G3) on Preakness Day at Pimlico.

Trained by co-owner/breeder Bernard Flint, Mizz Money broke alertly for Javier Castellano and showed in front when the opening quarter was clocked in :24.19. But when Josdesanimaux uncharacteristically wanted the lead, Castellano sensibly let her go. That was the key decision: if Josdesanimaux had taken up her usual stalking to midpack spot, Mizz Money would have been trying to wire this well-matched field.

Thanks to Josdesanimaux’s wild card, Mizz Money instead sat a better trip prompting the slow pace on a “good” course. The daughter of Mizzen Mast attended splits of :50.18 and 1:15.13 before striking in the stretch. Heath uncorked a circling move from last to challenge, and the 76-1 Viesalm erupted between them. But Mizz Money was unflinching as ever and stretched her head out toward the wire, finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.93.

Vielsalm grabbed second on the bob from Heath, who had the momentum of a winner at about the sixteenth pole. Although ground loss turning for home was costly, Heath had every chance to get past, and simply hooked a couple of resilient foes. The Pulpit half-sister to Lea deserves credit for coming so close off an unfavorable pace scenario, and she’ll have her day in the sun.

Flying Tipat, always in the hunt, was fourth, while Josdesanimaux retreated to fifth after her adventure in front-running. Tiger Ride, the 9-5 favorite, had a rough passage on the first turn, and never threatened in eighth.

Mizz Money’s scorecard now stands at 19-6-4-2, $338,248. Aside from her Grade 3 laurels in the Pucker Up and now the Gallorette, the gray also landed the 2015 Allen “Black Cat” Lacombe Memorial and the non-black-type New Orleans Ladies in her latest on March 26. She had placed in a trio of stakes during the Fair Grounds meet – the Marie Krantz Memorial, Mardi Gras, and the Daisy Devine by a head.

Out of the unraced Grand Slam mare Abbeyville Miss, Mizz Money is a full sister to black-type-placed One Mean Man. She hails from the immediate family of multiple stakes winner and Grade 1-placed Tourist. Further back, this is the female line of Japanese stars Agnes World and Hishi Akebono as well as Dubai Destination, Librettist, and Secret Number.

Quotes courtesy of Maryland Jockey Club

Winning trainer Bernard Flint (Mizz Money): “What a hard-fought race. My heart was pounding all the way through the stretch and everybody took their shots at her, but she was best today. I knew the forecast called for heavy rain and I was just hoping it would stay good enough for it to stay on the turf, because I didn’t want to run her on an off track. This is special because we bred her and it’s like having one of your children go out and succeed.”

Winning Jockey Javier Castellano (Mizz Money): “She was really relaxed early on. We were really going slow early. I liked the way she did it today. At the top of the stretch, she gained a little bit. When she saw the other horses coming, she took off again. When she did that showed me a lot of heart.”

Trainer Lynn Ashby (Vielsalm, 2nd): “We have been aiming for this race. She had been doing wonderfully lately. We raced her short coming into this race to get her ready. She loves the turf, so we’ll be looking for what turf races will fit her best in the near future. My owner, Brooke Bowman, raised her himself.

Jockey Forest Boyce (Vielsalm, 2nd): “She sure tried. It was something special, because Brooke (Bowman) had horses with Dickie (Small), and I used to work for Dickie, so that was cool.”

Jockey Florent Geroux (Heath, 3rd): “The filly ran great. There was just a lack pace, not much pace, especially on the backside. She finished great. I wish the race had (sped) up a little bit early on. They sprinted the last quarter of a mile. I didn't have traffic trouble where I was. I could swing her outside when I wanted to, and she raced a great race. It’s tough to get beat nose in a race like this.”

Rodolph Brisset, Assistant to trainer Bill Mott (Heath, 3rd): “He [Geroux] did a good job getting after it, going into a paceless race. She broke flat and you just have to wait. She put in a good run. She trained real well coming in and she’s going to win one soon.”

Photo courtesy Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club