Better Lucky, lightly regarded at odds of 8-1, held off a desperate late charge from Regalo Mia to win the $200,000 Sand Point Stakes (gr. II) for three-year-old fillies this afternoon at Belmont Park.
Ridden to victory by Eddie Castro, the daughter of Ghostzapper broke inward at the start but quickly recovered to settle into the third position early on, right along the rail and just a few lengths behind pace-setting Preach Tome Daddy. The latter filly, under Julien Leparoux, was allowed to waltz through slow fractions of :25.60, :49.74 and being only mildly pressured by Zultanite. In the meantime, heavily favored Somali Lemonade was in last place while not showing any speed at all.
Rounding the far turn, Preach Tome Daddy continued to lead the way, but was soon fronted by longshot Zultanite, who burst clear of the field turning for home and quickly opened up a sizable lead. But just as quickly that lead evaporated as Better Lucky exploded through in between horses to grab the lead.
But the race wasn't over yet, as Regalo Mia soon came with her late run, charging furiously on the far outside under Javier Castellano. In an incredible photo finish, Better Lucky held off Regalo Mia by the narrowest of margins to secure her first stakes victory. Zultanite finished just a half-length behind in third, followed distantly by Somali Lemonade, Preach Tome Daddy, Modulate, Firehouse Red, and Dreaming of Cara.
The winner is trained by Thomas Albertrani and owned by Darley Stable.
-Keelerman
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