My Mane Squeeze Powerful Down Stretch In Eight Belles Stakes

After running the worst race of her life in the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes, My Mane Squeeze scaled back in distance to massive success on Friday in the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs.

The 3-year-old Audible filly was settled in fourth by jockey Luis Saez in the early stages of the seven-furlong race, in the hind end of the lead flight, as Asternia asserted control on the rail, ahead of Halina's Forte and R Harper Rose. That group led the way through an opening quarter-mile in :22.46 and a half-mile in :45.23.

From four-wide, Saez began asking My Mane Squeeze for run after the half-mile point, and he drew even with Asternia and Halina's Forte as they hit the three-sixteenths pole. 

Under left-handed urging, My Mane Squeeze kept powering forward while the leaders failed, and she crossed the wire two lengths ahead of Impel, who moved off the rail in the early goings and was also gaining ground late. Early leader Asternia carried on for third, 4 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up.

My Mane Squeeze completed the Eight Belles in 1:22.85 over a sloppy sealed main track. She paid $15.84 to win.

The Eight Belles was My Mane Squeeze's fifth win in eight career starts with earnings of $604,110 for owners William J. Butler and WinStar Farm, and trainer Mike Maker. Butler also bred the filly in New York, out of the Speightstown mare In Spite of Mama.

My Mane Squeeze had never finished worse than third in her first six starts, but she ran eighth in her race prior to the Eight Belles, the Fantasy Stakes on March 30 at Oaklawn Park. It was both her first graded stakes try, and her first race going longer than a mile, and her effort was not helped by her antics at the gate. She was never a factor in the race.

Though she stayed in graded stakes competition to try the Eight Belles, she was scaled back to seven furlongs, and two of her four previous wins had come at distances less than a mile.

This is the second Eight Belles win for Saez, who won last year's race aboard Red Carpet Ready. It is the first win in the race for Maker.

To view the race's Equibase chart, click here.

EIGHT BELLES QUOTES

Luis Saez (jockey, My Mane Squeeze, winner) – “My horse handled the off track beautifully today. She traveled great the entire backstretch and was in a very comfortable position. You can tell by my silks that they are still clean and I think that helped her down the lane. We stayed out of all the kickback and she got stronger as we got closer to the wire.”

Mike Maker (trainer, My Mane Squeeze, winner) – “Well we did a lot of schooling at Oaklawn. She wasn’t acting like herself. She was in season in the paddock and she was bad in the gate. That was out of character. We did some schooling and it looks like it paid off. Maybe the outside post helped, she wasn’t in gate too long. But the previous start just wasn’t her. I was happy the way she saddled, and then when she loaded in the gate and she was behaving I was happy, and then the way she broke it was like, we’ll see if she’s good enough. The plan all along has been the (June 7) Acorn so we’ll take it one step at a time.”

Florent Geroux (jockey, Impel, second) – “It was a good race for her. She gave it a good try. I don’t think the track bothered her. She seemed to be fine on it. I can’t be complaining though. I’ve had a pretty good day today.”