Sophomore trotting fillies headlined Balmoral Park's Sunday, July 8 program, as a field of nine diagonally-gaited lasses were sent postward in the $34,700 final of the Hanover Stakes.
Using the inside starting spot to his advantage, driver Marcus Miller put Maevey Gravy right on the front from the word 'go,' and the daughter of Northern Kid-Grace Elizabeth never looked back, as she went on to score by one and three-quarter lengths in a lifetime best of 1:57.2.
“It really wasn’t my original plan going into the race,” laughed Miller. “I knew that Pete Wrenn’s horse (Feel The Pressure) had a load of speed and I really just wanted to settle in behind her. But I saw that she was really getting 'steppy' in that first turn and then she finally made a break so I just went on my filly.”
Cruising through splits of :29.4, 1:00 and 1:29.1, the Erv Miller-trained miss faced only mild pressure from a first-over Divas Photo (driven by Mike Oosting) throughout her journey.
“We were going pretty slow, so I felt pretty confident even though I had that other filly out there alongside of us,” said Miller. “I knew she was coming but she wasn’t coming that hard and my filly felt pretty strong every step of the way.”
After putting away the challenge of Divas Photo, Maevey Gravy drew clear to lead by two and a half lengths at the mid-stretch call. The issue was never really in doubt from that point on, as Maevey Gravy trotted home in :28.1 to post her third win in eight starts this season. Serene Lady (Dean Magee), a 43-1 outsider, rallied nicely to be the bridesmaid, while Powerful Star (Dale Hiteman) rallied up the inside to finish third.
Maevey Gravy now sports a record of 3-1-3 in eight starts this season for the Obermeier & Quaid Stables. Sent off at odds of 4-1, Maevey Gravy returned $10.00, $4.40 and $3.20.
State-bred trotting fillies were also in action on Sunday night, as a total of 11 Illinois-conceived and foaled two-year-olds battled in a pair of $5,000 splits of the Vaporize Stakes which were carded as non-wagering events earlier in the night. The winners were Trot Fudge Sundae (American Native-What A Joy) and Little Ms Chrissy (Southwind Breeze-Fox Valley Shiraz).
(With files from Balmoral)