Joe Labozzetta Photo

Got Stormy surges late to win Wild Applause

by Najja Thompson

Under a patient ride from Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Gary Barber's Got Stormy earned his second consecutive stakes win, capturing the $100,000 Wild Applause for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday at Belmont Park.

Breaking alertly from post 5, Got Stormy was sent forward and stalked in second position as Lady Subee set tepid fractions of 24.59 seconds for the opening quarter-mile with the half going in 48.91 on the firm Widener Turf Course.

At the quarter-pole, Got Stormy was tipped outside taking the lead at the top of the stretch. Fully extended at the sixteenth-pole under a vigorous hand ride, she held off a late charge from Punked to secure the victory by two lengths.

She completed the one mile distance in 1:34.93.

"It worked out perfect," said Velazquez. "[Winning trainer Mark Casse assistant] Jamie [Begg] and I were talking before the race and there was only one speed [Lady Suebee, No. 1]. The two Chad Brown horses were going to try to take back and make one move and the other one had a little bit of speed [Ferdinanda, No. 4] but I assumed that they were probably going to take that one back. When I broke in front of Barclay's horse [Ferdinanda], he kind of took back so I just sat second behind the other horse. I tried to get her to relax and finish down the lane and that's what she did. She finished up very good. Very impressive. She was explosive down the lane. Maybe if she settles more through the first part of the race, she can be really, really good."

Sent off as the 8-5 post-time favorite, Got Stormy returned $5.40 for a $2 win wager. The daughter of Get Stormy boosted her career earnings to $226,925.

"There wasn't a whole lot of speed in the race," said Begg. "We thought we'd be sitting a little farther back but Johnny [Velazquez] said before the race that [Ferdinanda, No. 4] might get taken back. So, when I saw Got Stormy sitting up front, I was [concerned]. But when I saw the fractions, I thought it was a decent spot for her because she does have a little kick. I was pretty confident at that point that she'd kick back.

Following Punked in second were Brattata, Ferdinanda and Lady Subee. Main track only entrants Mo Smart and Takechargedelilah were scratched.