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Security Code earns elusive stakes score in $100K Broadway

by Mary Eddy

WellSpring Stables’ Security Code broke through at the stakes level in her seventh attempt when capturing the $100,000 Broadway, a seven-furlong sprint for older New York-bred fillies and mares, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Phil Serpe and piloted to victory by Jose Lezcano, Security Code was previously stakes-placed on three occasions and entered from a hard-fought open-company allowance victory sprinting six furlongs on January 5 at the Big A. The consistent 4-year-old Frosted bay has now hit the board in each of her last eight outings, which have come once per month since July.

Serpe said he was pleased to see the filly earn her first stakes victory for longtime clients Dr. Robert Vukovich and his wife, Laura, who own and operate WellSpring Stables.

“Dr. Vukovich and his wife, Laura, are great people to train for and it’s always good to win for them,” said Serpe. “It’s good for this filly and she just keeps churning out a lot of good races. It’s funny – Andy Serling mentioned [on America’s Day at the Races] that she just keeps going. She was running here last January and she was running every month into February.”

Security Code emerged in good order from post 6-of-7 and settled in third behind the dueling duo of the sharp-starting Majestic Return and stakes-winner Kant Hurry Love as they marked an opening quarter-mile in 23.11 seconds over the good main track.

Majestic Return was coaxed by Kendrick Carmouche to take clear command midway down the backstretch to the outside of Kant Hurry Love, who responded quickly to return to even terms with her rival through the half-mile in 47.23 as Security Code began her run with a three-wide move.

A rallying Venti Valentine made her bid four-wide under a drive from Manny Franco at the top of the stretch as Kant Hurry Love cut the corner and came away with the clear advantage over a retreating Majestic Return. Security Code continued a strong run down the center of the course to take dead aim at the lead nearing the eighth pole.

Kant Hurry Love battled on admirably along the inside, but there was no denying the momentum of Security Code, who edged clear in the final 50 yards and staved off the rush of the multiple graded stakes-placed Venti Valentine by a neck in a final time of 1:26.77.

Kant Hurry Love finished another 1 1/4 lengths back in third with Sweetest Princess rounding out the superfecta. Gone and Forgotten, Majestic Return and Golden Rocket completed the order of finish. Bustin Bay was scratched in favor of an optional claiming tilt on Monday at the Big A.

Serpe said he was pleased to see a strong competitive spirit from the talented bay for the second consecutive start as she earned her second career victory beyond six furlongs.

“She’s got some fight in her, doesn’t she? We were kind of resigned to the fact that six furlongs might be her thing,” said Serpe. “She did win at seven furlongs before, but usually you see how good a horse is going to be somewhere into their 3-year-old year. But she just keeps getting a little bit better and she just seems to be improving. Maybe seven-eighths will be as far as she wants to go, but it’s a good result considering the New York-bred program, which we love and we’re a big part of, so that works out for her.”

Lezcano, Security Code’s regular pilot, echoed Serpe’s sentiments about her tenacity in the stretch.

“She broke pretty good and I was happy with the position I got,” Lezcano said. “She’s more comfortable when she’s outside horses. I put her in the clear and she take me from there. When I asked her at the quarter-pole, she kept running.

“My filly felt the other horse [Venti Valentine] outside and she picked it up again,” Lezcano continued. “She pinned her ears back and she wasn’t going to let her go by. She kept running.”

Serpe, who also maintains a winter string at Gulfstream Park, said he will take his time in evaluating the next race for Security Code.

“We’ll take it a step at a time. Her last two races, she really had to grind it out,” said Serpe. “What I do know about her is she does like space between races. When she was 2-turning-3, I was a little bit aggressive with her in her starts. But it came to me with the help of my crew that spacing her races out is something we should consider. Since we’ve done that, she’s been more consistent.”

Bred by Rockridge Stud, Ascendant Farms and Godolphin, Security Code banked $55,000 in victory and adds to a resume that includes a runner-up effort to subsequent dual graded stakes-winner Maple Leaf Mel in last year’s East View, as well as third-place efforts in the Key Cents and Franklin Square. She now boasts a record of 19-5-5-5 with total purse earnings of over $400,000.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with a nine-race card featuring the $100,000 Maddie May in Race 8. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack 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 Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.