Michael House’s BROOKE’S HALO (Southern Halo) shot out of the gate in
Sunday’s $177,500
Hollywood Breeders’ Cup Oaks (G2) and never looked back,
leading the eight-horse field from gate to wire under Victor Espinoza. The Jeff
Mullins trainee stopped the clock in 1:42 4/5 for the 1 1/16-mile fast track
test, returning $17.80, $6.80 and $4.80 at 7-1.
The sophomore miss set opening splits of :22 3/5 and :45 3/5 with post-time
favorite Leave Me Alone (Bold Badgett) just to her outside in second. Entering
the turn for home, that rival faded as Memorette (Memo [Chi]) and Cee’s Irish (Cee’s
Tizzy) commenced their closing runs after six furlongs in 1:10. But Brooke’s
Halo, who got the mile in 1:36, found more in the final sixteenth and turned
back multiple Grade 1 placed Memorette to cross the wire a one-length winner.
Memorette had to settle for another second-place finish, half a length ahead of
Cee’s Irish.
Brooke’s Halo started $1 exotics of $40.30 (exacta), $133.60 (trifecta) and
$282.10 (7-6-3-1 superfecta). Memorette, sent off at 2-1, gave back $4.40 and $3
while Cee’s Irish paid $3.20 for the show. Leave Me Alone re-rallied to complete
the superfecta, and was followed by Gn. Group Meeting (General Meeting), Lady
Bertrando (Bertrando) and Silver Dawn (Silver Charm). Charismatic Heart
(Charismatic) was pulled up leaving the backstretch and vanned off.
Out of the Grade 3-placed Salty Lady (Salt Lake), Brooke’s Halo counts the
unraced four-year-old Fight Song (Unbridled’s Song) and juvenile Spicy Yankee
(Dixie Union) as half-brothers. With this, her first stakes win, she improves
her mark to 6-3-1-0 with earnings of $179,900.