Alexa Skye maintained her spot as the hottest horse in all of harness racing, blowing away a solid field in the Friday night featured $22,500 winners-over $11,500 pace for fillies and mares at The Meadowlands.
“She’s made a believer out of me,” said her trainer Brett Pelling.
And everyone else for that matter.
Sent to the gate as the 3-5 favourite, driver Todd McCarthy asked for speed from Alexa Skye from post eight in the 10-horse field, and speed is what he got, as after Dbldelitebrigade N led at the quarter, McCarthy moved his four-year-old mare to the top well before the three-eighths.
The daughter of Somebeachsomewhere-Pirouette Hanover led by 1-1/2 lengths at the half despite a rated fraction of :28.4. Then, Alexa Skye sprinted the third panel in :26.4 to extend her lead to 3-1/2 at three-quarters.
But she still had more.
Her final quarter of :27.3 saw her hit the wire in 1:51, 4-1/4 lengths in front of second-place finisher The Bandit Queen N. Dbldelitebrigade N held third.
“She’s always been a really great-gaited filly,” said Pelling. “But when I look back now, in her defense, when she started off in her three-year-old year she was driven hard and used hard and I don’t think she liked that. In the latter part of the year [during a season when she went seven-for-17 and earned $63,430], Todd started driving her but she drew bad posts. She closed in three or four races in a row, and ever since then, she has been strong.
“We do sometimes not consider how young they really are. She was a June 12 foal so she was three months behind a lot of the horses she raced against. That’s how I see it.”
Alexa Skye’s strength has been unquestioned of late, as she’s won six of her last eight and eight of her last 11.
“Her start at Yonkers [when she missed a head after going parked the mile one week ago] had to be seen to be believed,” said Pelling. “But she bounced back and looked even better tonight.”
Alexa Skye, who returned $3.20 to her backers, has now won 12 of 33 lifetime outings, good for earnings of $149,890 for owners Blue Chip Bloodstock and John Lengacher.
The Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for older pacing mares at Yonkers Raceway – which begins March 12 – is what Pelling has his eye on for his prized pupil.
“That’s a very tough series for a four-year-old,” said Pelling. “That’s going to be very tough on her.”
Maybe so, but the way she’s going right now, Alexa Skye is the one with the target on her back.
(Meadowlands)