Kingsolver Graduates in Style in Schuylerville
Kingsolver broke her maiden and added a black-type score to her résumé in the same afternoon in the $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes July 4 at Saratoga Race Course.
Running an even fifth in her June 11 debut at Churchill Downs, Kingsolver appreciated the extra sixteenth of a mile in the Schuylerville, rolling to a two-length tally over heavily-favored My Sweetheart .
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Kingsolver broke alertly and fought for the early advantage before conceding to My Sweetheart through an opening quarter-mile in :22.35. The Mark Casse-trained My Sweetheart, who had opened up 1 1/2 lengths at the half-mile marker, saw her lead dwindle as the field turned for home. Set down to a drive, Kingsolver charged determinedly at the pacesetter and swept by that rival in the final sixteenth.
A 2-year-old daughter of Omaha Beach , Kingsolver ($8.90) clocked the six furlongs in 1:13.17 over a fast main track.
“We always liked her,” trainer Rodolphe Brisset said of Kingsolver. “The first race was the best maiden for 2-year-old fillies we saw all spring at Churchill. The number came back strong. She got bumped, got a little green and that’s typical for a 2-year-old for us. We were hoping she could run a couple lengths better. She did get tired today. The main track maybe was a little heavier than what we have been experiencing in Kentucky. She could end up on the grass at one point, but you’ve got to take a shot sometimes and we felt like that was the right race to take a shot.”
My Sweetheart held runner-up honors over Simone in third.
Bred by George Krikorian in Kentucky, part-owner Storyteller Racing purchased Kingsolver for $95,000 at this year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Kingsolver races for the partnership of Storyteller Racing, Michael Schroeck, Open Gate Horse Ventures, Brian Cahoe, Scott Catlett, Dave Russel, Matthew Ransdell, Michael Motley, and Joel Braun.
