Mr. Amore Stable’s AMERICAN BORDER (Boundary) closed rapidly up the rail to
win Friday night’s $150,000
Violet S.
(G3) at Meadowlands. Making her stakes debut in her 37th career start, the
four-year-old filly handsomely rewarded her connections, who claimed her for
$30,000 in June, while improving her line to 8-9-7, $260,070. Sent off at 11-1,
the Jason Servis trainee caught pacesetter and 78-1 outsider Le Cordon Bleu
(Royal Academy) in the final strides to win by a half-length.
“We claimed her knowing she had a great turf pedigree,” Servis explained. “I
kind of followed her a little bit in Florida when I was down there. I had to
shake for her and I won the shake.
“After her last race I was hesitant about bringing her back in two weeks,” he
added. “I was not thinking she was stakes material but now she’s looking pretty
good.”
With Jose Lezcano up, American Border dropped far back early from her rail
post as Le Cordon Bleu established splits in :23 2/5, :48 and 1:11 3/5 over the
firm turf. The eventual winner advanced along the inside through the far turn
and had moved to third, three lengths back, by the time the leader reached the
mile mark in 1:35 3/5. American Border continued her assault in the final
sixteenth of a mile, completing 8 1/2 furlongs in 1:41 3/5.
The bay lass rewarded her supporters with $24, $10.20 and $4.80 payouts and
keyed the $1,145.20 exacta with the runner-up, who gave back $67.80 and $24.40.
All is Vanity (Fr) (Gold Away [Ire]), the 5-2 second choice, finished a neck
back in third and paid $4.20. The trifecta returned $6,006.40, and the
1-5-3-6 superfecta, with 18-1 Royalties (King of Kings [Ire]) in the fourth
slot, was worth $59,403.20.
Cozzi Capital (Cozzene), Snow Cone (Cryptoclearance), Marie Rossa (GB) (Testa
Rossa), 3-2 favorite Sharp Susan (Touch Gold), Audacious Chloe (More Than
Ready), Seeking an Angel (Seeking the Gold), Shytoe Lafeet (King of Kings [Ire])
and Exchanging Fire (Exchange Rate) came next under the wire. Paradise Tonight
(Slew Gin Fizz) was pulled up and walked off the track, and main-track only
runner Jenny Bean Girl (Sefapiano) was scratched.
Bred in Kentucky by Herman Heinlein, American Border has now captured four of
her last five races. She is out of the unraced
American Mambo (Kingmambo), who is also the dam of stakes-placed Really American
(Real Quiet), and counts multiple Grade 2 victress American Royale (American
Standard) as her granddam.