Parnac (right) had plenty in reserve to hold off challenges from three opponents in the stretch en route to a 1 ¼-length win in the Flower Bowl Stakes Sept. 2 at Saratoga. (Eclipse Sportswire)
The Sept. 2 Flower Bowl Stakes at Saratoga Race Course will go in the books as a 1 3/8-mile turf race, but those who watched it, or examined the race’s fractions, know it was more like a three-furlong sprint that followed a one-mile warm-up.
That suited the leader, Parnac, and after posting dawdling fractions through the first mile, jockey Dylan Davis hit the gas on the frontrunning filly and she out-quickened her three rivals to comfortably outlast belated stretch bids from the favorites, McKulick and stablemate Amazing Grace. They settled for second and third, respectively, with pace-chasing Tamarama last of four starters.
The Grade 2 Flower Bowl is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenger Series, and Parnac earned an automatic fees-paid berth in the Nov. 4 Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf with her win Saturday. The Filly and Mare Turf is over a shorter distance, contested at 1 ¼ miles at Santa Anita Park.
Parnac completed 1 3/8 miles on a firm course in 2:18.60, defeating McKulick by 1 ¼ lengths. She paid $18.40, overlooked by the betting public after a third-place finish in her preceding start in the July 1, Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park.
In that race, Parnac stalked the pace in third, but she showed a different style in the Flower Bowl under an astute ride from Davis, who sent his mare after the front from her inside post.
“I was able to pick her up into the last turn, get her running going before they got too close to her, and then she was able to hold them off,” Davis said.
Parnac, a bay 4-year-old Zarnac filly, improved to 5-for-11 with Saturday’s victory, collecting earnings of $275,000 to advance her career bankroll to $467,517. Her victory was her first in a U.S. stakes race after three prior defeats.
“Some people might say she stole the race, maybe she did steal the race, but you know what? She stole it in a nice way. She won pretty easily in the end,” Clement said.
After being forced to scratch from an allowance optional claiming race by NYRA officials last month over initial concerns related to the health of Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes starters, Parnac collected a much more valuable prize Saturday. Recent veterinary diagnostics showed her to be in healthy condition.
“Sometimes, you get lucky in spite of things. Bad things happen, but good things happen to good people, too,” said Tom Bellhouse, West Point Thoroughbreds executive vice president.
