After 1 1/16 miles, it would be the final stride that determined the outcome of the $589,500 Edgewood Stakes (G2T) run May 1 at Churchill Downs.
Mark Dobbin's Imaginationthelady, the 2-1 favorite, stretched just before the wire to get a head in front of Rigney Racing's Tam Tam, who led the field of 13 sophomore fillies through most of the running on the Churchill turf. Imaginationthelady is trained by Brendan Walsh.
In a very deep field, Imaginationthelady attracted the most attention from bettors after finishing a solid fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) in the fall and starting off the year with a second by a neck to Storm's Wake in the April 4 Appalachian Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland. The daughter of Not This Time came into the Edgewood in sharp form off a bullet 5 furlongs in 1:00 4/5 at Turfway Park.
About a sixteenth of a mile after the break, however, it would be Tam Tam that set the pace in a race largely devoid of speed. Under Junior Alvarado, the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro set early fractions of :23.17, :47.78, and 1:11.92. Emcee Stable's Lion Lake stalked Tam Tam through the first turn, down the backstretch, and into the second turn. Whisper Hill Farm's homebred Just Aloof stalked the leaders as well.
Jockey Tyler Gaffalione had Imaginationthelady tucked down along the rail in midpack for much of the running until the top of the stretch where Tam Tam and Lion Lake had opened up a gap that allowed Gaffalione to move three paths off the rail and start his assault on the front-runners.
Tam Tam and Lion Lake were engaged in one battle, while Imaginationthelady and Just Aloof had their own showdown that drove them together toward the leaders. Imaginationthelady stretched past both Tam Tam and Lion Lake to get the win by a head over Tam Tam. Lion Lake was a narrow head behind Tam Tam in third and a head in front of Just Aloof. The final time was 1:40.92 on firm turf. Imaginationthelady paid $6.88 to win.
"I wanted to get position out of the gate, and she responded to me well," Gaffalione said. "They slowed it down a little bit down the backstretch and I lost a little ground there. She never hesitated when I put her through the spot and she finished off really well."
Walsh said Imaginationthelady was a bit farther back than he'd hoped, but that it all worked out.
"I didn't have any instructions for my rider. He rides for me all the time and he knows what we want. It was tight at the end, and Tyler gave her a great ride," he said. "We always thought she was a nice filly as a 2-year-old, and she's only gotten better with age. I'm not sure what's next for her, but I've got a feeling she's just going to get better."
Walsh said the victory helped take some of the sting out of losing the chance to see Bella Ballerina compete in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). She was scratched April 30 because of a minor injury.
"This is a tribute to my whole team," he said. "They all work hard and this is the sort of thing that everyone enjoys."
Ashview Farm and Colts Neck Stables bred Imaginationthelady out of the unraced War Front daughter Romanticism, who also has produced stakes-placed winners Juris Doctor (Constitution ) and Benissimo (Pioneerof the Nile). Romanticism is out of multiple grade 1 winner and multimillionaire Sightseek.
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