In her seasonal debut, Simply in Front rallied to put her nose down at the wire to win the $740,670 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes (G2T) May 3. The Eddie Kenneally-trained filly battled with Pin Up Betty in a thrilling stretch run to win by a neck.
Coming off a five-month hiatus from her last start Nov. 29—a flat seventh in the Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2T)—Simply in Front stayed off the pace until the top of the lane when she made her move on the outside under Luis Saez. She rated near the back of the pack through fractions of :23.56, 48.11, and 1:12.55 to win the one-mile race in 1:35.46 over the turf course listed as good. She paid $33 to win.
"She broke the way we expected," Saez said. "She was traveling nicely. When we ran at Kentucky Downs, the trip was similar to today. There were some good horses in that race. When she made her move at the top of the lane, I could tell I had a lot of horse left.
"She was traveling nice and the track is pretty good. You never know (if you're going to win), because they're good horses here. But, when she made the move at the top of the stretch, I knew we had a chance to win the race."
"We thought she would run well fresh," Kenneally said. "And she does run well fresh. We spaced her races out nicely last year, and she won some very good races off a little bit of a freshening. So, I was confident enough that she would be in the top three today. It's a deep field of fillies, but I thought she'd show up fresh off the bat and run a good race, which she did.
"The track's great, the turf is in phenomenal shape."
The 4-year-old daughter of Summer Front owned by Colebrook Farms won the Music City Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky Downs last fall, and now has a record of 4-3-0 from 12 starts, with today's win boosting her bankroll to $1,860,636. The filly was bred in Kentucky by William Harrigan and Mike Pietrangelo, and bought by Colebrook Farms at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $115,000 from the Indian Creek consignment.
Kenneally said the filly has matured since her sophomore season, and has grown physically as well, noting she is carrying more flesh this year. He stated the Just a Game Stakes (G1T) June 7 at Saratoga Race Course is likely next up for the winner.
"She was a really good 3-year-old, but I think she could have an even better 4-year-old year," Kenneally said.
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