Coglianese Photo

Paid Up Subscriber delivers in G3 Shuvee with 32 ½-length victory

by Najja Thompson

Leaving the gate as a 3-5 post time favorite, Paid Up Subscriber did not disappoint her backers, besting Terra Promessa and Apologynotaccepted to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course.

Breaking from post 2 with Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard, the pair sat comfortably in third position as Apologynotaccepted and Terra Promessa dueled up front, setting fractions of 23.07 seconds for the opening quarter and 46.81 for the half.

As the leaders neared the three-eighths pole, Paid Up Subscriber began to make her winning move, swinging out four-wide and authoritatively surpassing the pair in front. Taking a commanding lead in the stretch, she drew away to the wire comfortably to win by 32 ½ lengths.

Returning $3.30 for a $2 win wager, she completed the 1 1/8 mile distance in 1:51.03 over a fast main track.

"It was great," said Velazquez. "It was a three-horse field, so sometimes you have to do things different and that's how it happened today. I knew the other two horses had some speed. I wanted to keep it close enough to where they didn't get away from me and not put too much pressure on them. 

"On the backstretch, I changed my mind and put the pressure on and see how they did," he added. "When I got to the [half-mile] pole, it looked like it was turning my way, and from then on it was pretty easy for her. The other horses took back at the three-eighths pole, so when I got to the front, I decided to put the pressure on. When they took back, I changed my mind and put the pressure on and she handled it very well."

With the victory, her first since June of last year and first since transferring to the barn of trainer Chad Brown after being purchased by owners Peter Brant and Allen Stable, the 5-year-old daughter of Candy Ride boosted her career earnings to $862,850.

"I'm very proud of her," Brant. "She was running against a pretty good filly last time [second to Songbird in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps] and was right there. I was very pleased. I couldn't be happier. The other two fillies were good, too, but we just battled it out."

Second-place Terra Promessa finished four lengths ahead of Apologynotaccepted.