Susie Raisher Photo

Ruby Notion pulls off 27-1 upset in Caress

by Najja Thompson

Under a perfectly timed ride by jockey Florent Geroux, Ruby Notion extended away in the final yards to earn her first stakes win in more than two years capturing Monday’s $200,000 Caress for older fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course.

Breaking from post 8 at odds of 27-1, Ruby Notion stalked comfortably from sixth position as Girls Know Best led the field of nine through fractions of 22.36 seconds for an opening quarter-mile and a half in 46.96.

At the three-eighths pole, Ruby Notion began her winning move, surpassing leaders and sneaking her way to the front at the quarter-pole. Ruby Notion took a commanding lead in the stretch and held off a late charge from Chanteline to secure the victory by two lengths.

The final time for the 5 ½-furlong distance on the Mellon turf course listed as yielding was 1:06.43.

“When horses run on this type of ground, it’s just a question of who can handle it the most,” said Geroux. “It looked like she really enjoyed it out there. When I came turning for home, she gave me all the indications she was going to go all the way to the end. 

“Last time, she ran great and could have run a winning race, but I got bumped around leaving the gate and I was way further back than I was today. Today, she broke sharply and put me in the race. I gained a [few] lengths right off the bat. I had a cleaner start, and maybe she appreciated the ground being a little softer.”

Returning $56.50 for a $2 win wager, the 5-year-old homebred daughter of Great Notion for Silverton Hill Farm boosted her career earnings to $276,578 earning her first victory since an allowance race in June for trainer Darrin Miller.

“We had confidence, I had confidence all week. She's such an honest horse,” said Chase Miller, son and assistant to winning trainer Darrin Miller. “[She’s] Great to work around. I thought she had a big shot in this race, and I felt like we should've won that last race at Churchill. Florent rode her in a great spot, he rode her so confidently, I had a good feeling today. I thought she would run a great race.”

“She beat some really nice fillies today, so that's something to encourage us and we can move on from,” Miller added.

Following Chanteline was Just Talkin in third, Morticia, Girls Know Best, Triple Chelsea, Bowie, Fire Key and Brielle’s Appeal. Lull, Faypien, Tillie’s Lily and Kirby’s Penny were scratched from the race.