Since arriving in Western New York at the end of October, Artsy Princess has been knocking at the door for a victory with four second-place finishes in her six local appearances.
But on a frigid Wednesday evening (Jan. 22) in the $10,500 Fillies and Mares Open Pace at Buffalo Raceway, Artsy Princess was no longer camera shy as she scored a half-length victory over Youre Too Funny in 2:00.4 over the 'good' track.
Driven by Shawn McDonough, Artsy Princess ($13) went three-wide down the home stretch and used a :29.1 final quarter to collar Youre Too Funny (Jack Flanigen) while Ahlbback Yankee (Mike Micallef) held on for third place.
High Speed Life (Ray Fisher Jr.) had set the fractions of :30.4, 1:00.3 and 1:31 after starting from the outside, but called it a night as the field turned for home.
Artsy Princess was helped out in the field of seven as Right On Ram and Red Star Fiona both broke stride before the mares hit the backstretch for the first time.
Owned by the Empowered Racing Stable and trained by Carl Smith, the win was the 12th lifetime for Artsy Princess (Western Hanover-Clouding Over) and moved the six-year-old mare's career earnings to $$251,701.
(Buffalo Raceway)