Chelsea Durand Photo

Accede accelerates late to take G2 Bed o’ Roses

by Christian Abdo

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Accede kicked home strongly to make the grade, staving off the bid of Just Katherine in a classy field of 10 in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Bed o’ Roses, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, at Belmont at the Big A.

In victory, four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Chad Brown, who also saddled Shidabhuti to a good fourth, notched a title defense in the event following Champion Female Sprinter Goodnight Olive taking last year’s edition. Brown achieved this feat before, winning consecutive runnings with Lewis Bay [2018] and Separationofpowers [2019].

Last year, Goodnight Olive went on to run second in the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga Race Course. Brown said Accede may be pointed to the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina on August 24 there as well – a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint – with a possible prep in the six-furlong Grade 2, $200,000 Honorable Miss Handicap on July 24 at the Spa.

“I’m not sure [if the Ballerina is next]. That’s an awful long way away. I’m not sure if I’ll run her again. [The Honorable Miss] could be [in between],” Brown said.

Piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr., the 4-year-old Into Mischief bay broke sharply from post 3 but a bit outwardly, forcing Morning Matcha and Just Katherine to drop back as she was taken to the front immediately. There, Accede took heavy pressure from Beguine who exited the outermost post 10, but maintained a head in front to lead the way through an opening quarter-mile in 23.22 seconds over the fast main track with Apple Picker, Leave No Trace, Flying Connection and Big Pond grouped close behind.

Down the backside, Ortiz, Jr. sat chilly aboard Accede along the rail as Trevor McCarthy moved longshot Beguine 1 1/2 lengths ahead of the rest and the Jose Lezcano-piloted Leave No Trace put a head in front of Accede for second entering the turn after a half-mile in 46.01.

“She broke better than ever today and that helped. I think she fits the seven-eighths perfect. She broke out a little, but I corrected her as soon as I can,” said Ortiz, Jr. “After that I let her be there and let her be happy. The horse outside of me [Beguine] probably had more speed than my filly, so before the half-mile I let them go ahead and just followed them.”

In the turn, Accede continued to save ground along the rail as Leave No Trace prepared to make a run at the pacesetting Beguine, a move she made successfully in Grade 3 Vagrancy last-out here on May 18. In behind, Just Katherine got going widest of all as jockey Manny Franco searched for his third consecutive win on the day as three-quarters elapsed in 1:10.63.

With one furlong left to run, a window between the tiring Beguine and Leave No Trace opened up and Accede burst through to re-claim the lead. Just Katherine loomed large to her outside, and Ortiz, Jr. and Franco were all-out aboard their fillies to the wire, with a stubborn Accede keeping a neck in front in a final time of 1:22.83.

Ortiz, Jr. credited his filly’s toughness for making the most of a tight gap to claim victory.

“Sometimes a space opens and I want to go, but the horse sometimes don’t help that much – they get intimidated, but she has a big heart and wasn’t scared at all when I asked her,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “She didn’t even think about it, she just goes forward. She listened to me and that’s great.”

It was a battle three lengths back for show-honors, with the late-running Hot Fudge a neck better than Shidabhuti, who was a nose better than Flying Connection to round out the superfecta. Leave No Trace, Morning Matcha, Apple Picker, Beguine and Big Pond rounded out the order of finish.

Accede graduated last year at first asking before a show effort in the Grade 2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs, but then finished off-the-board in the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park, restricted Wilton at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Music City at Kentucky Downs.

Brown said the filly likely benefited from a freshening.

“She wasn’t really looking like a horse to jump back into stakes. They [Juddmonte] took her and gave her some time off and sent her back to me very strong and sound, moving great,” Brown said. “We sort of settled on cutting her back in distance and turning her into a sprinter this year, and she’s so much sounder and stronger this year. I was really pleased to see the progression she’s made from 3-to-4.”

Franco said the Jose Jimenez-conditioned Just Katherine was game to place after a tough start.

“She ran huge. I missed the break a little bit and the winner came out and the outside horse came in a little bit,” said Franco. “They took me out of there, so I took my time after that and didn’t rush her, just let her get her feet underneath her and she came running. It was a big effort.”

Accede, out of multiple graded stakes winning Mizzen Mast mare Jibboom, banked $110,000 in victory while improving her record to 8-4-0-1. She returned $10.20 for a $2 win bet.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont at the Big A with a nine-race card featuring the $150,000 Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, a six-furlong turf sprint for sophomores in Race 3. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.