Even trainer Charlie Appleby can send out a horse who needs a race.
Not often, but on occasion. A case in point is Godolphin’s Beautiful Love .
The homebred daughter of Siyouni made her United States debut Aug. 17 in the Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course.
Racing wide, she never entered contention and finished sixth.
“She needed the race,” said Appleby assistant Nikki Jones.
That was hardly the case in her second American start as Beautiful Love staged a wide rally from eighth on the third and final turn to notch a 1 1/2-length victory in the $350,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T) for 3-year-old fillies Sept. 14 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
“Turning for home she had a lot to do and she did power home,” Jones said. “Charlie had no doubts she’d see out the trip. She was great and she’s been as good as gold.”
The victory was the initial stakes win for the daughter of the Dubawi mare Powder Snow , who won for the third time in eight career starts.
Though jockey Dylan Davis kept Beautiful Love inside behind a loose leader for much of the 1 3/8 miles, he made a wise move in tipping outside on the final turn to avoid traffic along the inside and closing in the eight path during the stretch run.
“They wanted me to get into a forward position in midpack, but she ended up hopping out of there so we had to go to plan B and trust my instincts,” said Davis, who continued his hot riding from Saratoga with three wins Saturday, including one for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Tall Paul in the sixth race. “She responded well. They had her ready to go today and I’m happy to win again for the team.”
A jubilant Dylan Davis aboard Beautiful Love after winning the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes
Macanga sprinted away to a lengthy lead in the Jockey Club Oaks, leading by 10 lengths after a mile in 1:37.45 on the firm turf. That lead shrank rather quickly in the stretch. Caldwell Luvs Gold and Justdeny , who were second and third after a mile, moved to the front leaving the eighth pole but could not hold off Beautiful Love ($9.20), who covered the 1 3/8 miles in 2:15.28.
The victory gave Godolphin a sweep of New York’s three rich turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies as they captured the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) and Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G2T) with Cinderella’s Dream .
West Paces Racing, Pine Racing Stable, and R. A. Hill Stable’s Justdeny wound up second. A Justify filly trained by Danny Gargan, she was a nose ahead of Caldwell Luvs Gold, a New York-bred Goldencents filly owned by Dicke Racing and trained by Brad Cox.
