UNZIP ME (City Zip) continued her winning ways in Thursday night’s $100,000
Senator Ken
Maddy H. (G3), sprinting right to the lead after the break en route to a 1
1/2-length, wire-to-wire score. A five-time stakes heroine this year for Marty
Jones, the four-year-old filly completed six furlongs over the firm Hollywood
Park turf in 1:08 2/5 beneath the guidance of Rafael Bejarano.
An easy winner of the Royal North S. (Can-G3) at Woodbine in her previous
outing, Unzip Me has also captured the Las Cienegas H. (G3), Irish O’Brien S.
and Great Lady M. S. this year. Her only setback in 2010 came against males,
when finishing a close third in the Robert K. Kerlan Memorial S., and the
nation’s leading female turf sprinter has now earned $424,513 from a 14-8-2-2
career line.
“She’s just a special horse,” Jones said. “This is why you get up every
morning, hoping to get horses like this. She’s got everything you need…a lot
of talent and a lot of heart.”
Off as the 3-5 favorite among seven rivals, Unzip Me showed the way along the
rail, setting early splits of :22 4/5 and :45 2/5, and repulsed a stretch
challenge from Waveline (Stravinsky) to win comfortably in the end. The chestnut
paid $3.40, $2.40 and $2.10, and Waveline, the 13-1 sixth choice, gave back
$7.60 and $5.80. It was nearly a length back to the 9-1 Bonifacio (Even the
Score), who returned $4.80 after edging fourth-placer Czechers (Indian Charlie)
by a nose. Reba is Tops (He’s Tops), Alpha Kitten (Tale of the Cat) and Terrify
(Even the Score) came next under the wire, and Dotsy Jean (Lit de Justice) and
Minute Limit (Ire) (Pivotal) were scratched.
The $1 exotics totaled $15.90 (exacta), $98.60 (trifecta) and $296.30
(3-9-5-8 superfecta).
Owned by her breeders Harris Farms and Donald Valpredo, in partnership with
Per Antonsen and trainer Jones, Unzip Me is out of the winning Arazi mare Escape
with Me, whose latest foals are an unraced juvenile filly named Clean Break
(Swiss Yodeler) and a weanling colt by Aragorn (Ire). Unzip Me’s second dam is the
brilliant, 11-time stakes heroine Soviet Problem (Moscow Ballet), the conqueror
of males in the Laurel Dash (G3) and a near-miss second in the 1994 Breeders’
Cup Sprint (G1).