When Christen Pantaleano dropped E Dees Well Said into last week’s Jugette, some observers might have concluded the trainer had ‘Jugette Fever’ and was racing just to say she did. Her filly’s credentials — success in late closers at the Meadows, second in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes consolation — didn’t seem to justify a battle with the finest three-year-old fillies in the sport.
But if Pantaleano suffered from that disease, she was cured by watching E Dees Well Said finish second, beaten a diminishing length by Alexas Power, at an astronomical 62-1. The daughter of Well Said-Eternitys Delight earned more than $57,000, the biggest payday of her career (for a full recap of Jugette Day, click here).
“If the race had been a few steps longer,” she says, “we would have won it all. It was by far the greatest thrill of my life.”
On Saturday at the Meadows, E Dees Well Said will try to maintain her momentum in the $61,500 Keystone Classic. She’ll start from Post 7 in Race 4 with regular pilot (and Christen’s husband) Jim Pantaleano, who guided her in the Jugette. First post will be at 1:05 p.m.
E Dees Well said was purchased for $35,000 as a two-year-old for C Jimmy D’s Racing LLC, an investors’ group that Christen Pantaleano manages.
“She was very scrappy,” the trainer recalls. “We took a chance on her, and as soon as we got her to the barn, she was game for everything. I always thought that she would be great on a half-mile track, and Jimmy always has been a great half-mile-track driver. From the time we bought her I told Jimmy, ‘She’s going to the Jugette.’
“When I staked her to the Jugette, I thought they would go heats, which didn’t happen. I thought she would be amazing in heats because absolutely nothing affects her.”
E Dees Well Said has the Simpson and the Pegasus remaining this year. Prompted by her filly’s stunning debut on a half-mile oval, Christen is already is working on a plan for her charge’s four-year-old campaign.
“I would love to take her to Yonkers and see what she can do. She has so much potential, and she has an amazing attitude.”
Saturday’s card will include a number of attractive wagering opportunities, including a pair of enticing pool guarantees — $7,500 for the Pick 4, $5,000 for the Pick 5 — as well as a $957.10 jackpot for the Super Hi-5.
(Meadows)