Part the Seas won her second stakes score off the claim with a thrilling stretch run in Sunday’s Grade 2 $150,000 Bessarabian Stakes, at Woodbine.
Part the Seas, a four-year-old daughter of Stormy Atlantic, was claimed for $62,500 by trainer Mike DePaulo for owner Bear Stables Ltd on August 3 from Sam-Son Farms.
The bay proved to be an astute purchase winning the $100,000 Avowal Stakes first time out for her new connections and followed that effort up with a third-place run in the $100,000 River Memories Stakes.
Sent to post at odds of 14-1 in the Grade 2 Bessarabian, Part the Seas settled near the back of the pack in the seven furlong ‘Poly’ stake under jockey Jim McAleney as Youcan’tcatchme, Dene Court and Purely Hot battled on the lead through splits of :22.70 and :45.15.
McAleney urged Part the Seas into motion through the turn and burst between rivals as the pace collapsed through the stretch run to score a 1 3/4-length win. Long shot Mekong Delta rallied to win a place photo over Strike the Moon.
It was a first graded win for Part the Seas, who was bred in Ontario by her former owner Sam-Son Farms. The bay covered seven furlongs in 1:22.31.
“She broke a little tardy. I didn’t expect to be that far back, so I opted to take an inside trip and everything unfolded perfectly,” said McAleney. “Today is the first time I sat on this filly, but she was dead ready to win.”
McAleney was happy to be sitting off a hot early tempo led by multiple stakes winner Youcan’tcatchme under constant pressure from Dene Court and well-regarded shipper Purely Hot.
“When there’s that much good speed in there, you know the late fractions are going to get a little softer so it really enhances your chances when you come from out of it,” said McAleney.
Part the Seas banked $90,000 in victory, while improving her record to 5-2-3 from 16 career starts.
She returned $30.20, $13.50 and $6.90, pairing with Mekong Delta ($34.90, $14.70) for a $756.10 (4-1) exactor. A 4-1-3 (Strike the Moon, $5.10 to show) triactor was worth $4,686. Purely Hot completed a $1 Superfecta (4-1-3-6) worth $12,996,90. Cabo Queen and Runfor Ro were scratched.
More from Horse Sport:
