Viola Jasko Photo

Wonder Gal romps to 13 ½-length victory in Ladies H.

by Heather Pettinger

Clearview Stable's New York-bred Wonder Gal seized an early lead in the $100,000 Ladies Handicap and never looked back, going on to win her first race against open company - and her first stakes since October of 2015 -by an authoritative, 13 ½ lengths in front-running fashion on Friday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Leah Gyarmati and ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, Wonder Gal broke from the inside post and quickly established a comfortable lead in the field of five, running the opening quarter-mile in 23.70 seconds and the half in 47.73. The 5-year-old Tiz Wonderful mare maintained a clear advantage as the field reached the top of the stretch and opened up late in the stretch to finish a mile and 70 yards in 1:42.45 to win the 146th running of the Ladies Handicap, which was rescheduled following last weekend's weather-related cancellations.

"I wanted to get to the front. I had the one-hole, and the best thing is to see if you can get position and see if everyone is scattering behind you," said Carmouche. "Once I got to the half-mile and I heard the guys scramble back there, I just opened up. I said it was going to be a 'do-or-die' situation. It worked out today. I just want to say congratulations to Leah Gyarmati and her team."

Wonder Gal, making her first start for her new owner following a private purchase after her third-place finish in the Grade 3 Go For Wand Handicap in December, returned $5 for a $2 win wager. The winner improves her record to 4-2-6 from 16 starts with lifetime earnings of $887,145.

"Her performance today was spectacular," said Gyarmati. "She seemed like she did it so easily. She ran that big race up at Saratoga [September 2] and she was training so well heading into that race. It kind of set her back a little bit but going into this race she started having those same works as she did back then. I'm just so thankful for this performance."

Chorus Line checked in second. Jet Majesty was third, followed by Highway Star and Always On My Mind to complete the order of finish.