With a spiffy yellow tie and stylish black shades, nonagenarian Alex Campbell met his homebred Mean Mary in the winner's circle after the $148,500 Gallorette Stakes (G3T) May 15 at Pimlico Race Course.
Mean Mary had an easier trip in the Gallorette than Campbell did to come to Pimlico; Campbell fell in Florida the night before the 5-year-old Scat Daddy mare's Saturday start, and after an emergency room visit, had to be cleared by a physician to travel—which he did Saturday morning. Mean Mary, on the other hand, was permitted by her rivals to gallop out to an easy lead in the 1 1/16-mile Gallorette, and without pressure throughout, had enough to hold off a late run from Vigilantes Way by half a length.
It was the first start of the year for the Graham Motion-trained Mean Mary, who ended her 2020 season with a seventh in the Nov. 7 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T), just 2 1/2 lengths behind the winner, after pressing the pace and briefly leading in the 1 3/16-mile event.
It was also her first start without the anti-bleeding medication Salix (furosemide, also commonly called Lasix); in 2021, Lasix is prohibited in major racing jurisdictions such as Maryland, New York, and Kentucky as part of an industry-wide effort to eliminate race-day medication.
"Could not have asked for a better comeback." Motion said. "I was a little nervous; first time she's run without Lasix. That's all I said to (jockey) Luis Saez is to make sure she was settled. She wants to be pretty wound up. Perfect comeback."
Vigilantes Way was expected to put pressure on Mean Mary from the start, but the Phipps Stable homebred stumbled and bumped with Great Island before recovering. Mean Mary was already well on her way by then, galloping along through fractions of :25.27 and :50.92 before getting three-quarters in 1:15.29. Spurting away two wide after being roused in upper stretch, she finished clear of Vigilantes Way, who closed from fifth to put in a bold run through a 1:37.60 mile.
The final time was 1:43.10 on firm turf. Mean Mary returned $3.60 to win as the 4-5 favorite in a five-horse field. Following runner-up Vigilantes Way, the order of finish was completed by Great Island, Flighty Lady, and Feel Glorious. Tuned was scratched.
"She broke right there on her own," Saez said. "She was doing it pretty easy, and I knew I had a lot of horse. At the top of the stretch, I just let her run. …It was a little short for her, because she loves to go a mile and a half. That's her distance. But with the layoff, it was perfect for her. There's a lot more horse there. I had so much horse."
Motion said a defense of her title in the June 5 New York Stakes (G2T) going 1 1/4 miles at Belmont Park could be next for Mean Mary.
"I wouldn't rule out coming back in three weeks. I'm not saying we're definitely going to do it, but I wouldn't totally rule it out," he said.
Another possible target could be the Aug. 14 Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) at Arlington International Racecourse, according to Motion.
"It's a race I've always wanted to win, and we won't get many more chances," Motion said.
Track owner Churchill Downs Incorporated plans to sell the Arlington facility and is taking bids through the end of June. Local horsemen have organized groups to try to buy the track, but its future is uncertain, with CDI earlier this year announcing its wishes to sell the property for development.
Bred in Kentucky out of the grade 1-winning Dynaformer mare Karlovy Vary, Mean Mary improved her record to six wins and two seconds from 10 starts, with earnings of $606,160. Motion also trains her half brother, the Uncle Mo colt Bye Bye Melvin, who dead-heated for fourth with Sacred Life Saturday in the $250,000 Dinner Party Stakes (G2T) at Pimlico.
