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Oaks News
Misty Rosette On Oaks Trail With Old Hat Victory By: Caton Bredar Arindel Farm's Wait a While took a while to get into the starting gate, but she made up for lost time with a romping, 14-length win in the grade II Davona Dale Stakes at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. The win was one of two impressive sophomore filly performances in graded stakes action on what turned out to be the first gray, rainy day of the Miami winter racing season. Making her 2006 racing debut in the $150,000 race--a possible stepping stone to the Kentucky Oaks in May--Wait a While was hesitant to load prior to the start. "I didn't think she was ever going into the gate," winning jockey and Eclipse Award winner John Velazquez remarked after the victory. "Once I got off of her, she went right in. After that, all I was worried about was getting her in a good position. She broke fine, and when I got her in position, everything went great." Purchased for $260,000 out of the OBS 2-year-old in training sale just one year ago, Wait A While stalked the early pace set by longshot Stolen Prayer and favored Teammate through early fractions of :22.79 for the opening quarter, :45.70 for the half-mile and 1:09.50 for the first three-quarters of a mile. Nearing the quarter pole, the gray daughter of Maria's Mon--who sired Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos--moved up easily to take the lead and draw away from runner-up Teammate and the rest of the field. Over the sloppy track, Wait a While ran the mile and an eighth in 1:50.27 and returned $8.80, $4.00 and $3.00 to her backers and earned $90,000 of the $150,000 purse. Favorite Teammate was in a little tight on the first turn but appeared second best, a head in front of Wonder Lady Anne L, who was another head in front of Stolen Prayer. Third in the grade II Demoiselle in her final start of the year last season, Wait a While, bred in Kentucky by Will Farish and Temple Webber, Jr., actually showed more promise on the grass. "I'm still very impressed with the way she ran on the grass when she broke her maiden," Champion trainer Todd Pletcher said from the winner's circle. "We've liked her a lot from the start and were very high on her before her first race at Saratoga...I guess I have to keep her on the dirt now. We'll probably think about the Bonnie Miss (on March 5 at Gulfstream)." While Pletcher seemed somewhat hesitant to commit to a goal for his stakes winner, trainer Jim Chapman, who saddled Misty Rosette two races earlier to win the $100,000, grade III Old Hat Stakes, was just the opposite. "Our goal with her is to make the Kentucky Oaks," Chapman said immediately following his filly's four-length win. "We'll sit down and see the schedule and see where we go from here. I wasn't worried about her on this track, because she's bigger and stronger than most 3-year-old fillies right now." Under jockey Sebastian Madrid, Misty Rosette chased a fast early pace set by Somethinaboutbetty, through an opening quarter in a swift :21.76. By the half-mile marker, the daughter of Stormin Fever took over and continued to coast home, splashing home in 1:16.03 for the six and a half furlongs. Bred in Kentucky by former Governor Brereton C. Jones, the winner returned $12.40, $6.20 and $4.20. Swap Fliparoo finished second, a length and three-quarters in front of third-place finisher Smart N Pretty, and favored Yachats, who seemed to struggle with the sloppy track throughout, was fourth.
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