Despite being left in the gate and spotting the field 10 lengths, first-time starter Market Quote rallied to win a mile race yesterday at Santa Anita Park. Trained by John Shirreffs and bred/owned by Pam and Martin Wygod, the four-year-old filly by After Market showed tremendous talent and heart to circle the field and fight for the win at the wire.
Here are jockey Joe Talamo’s comments from the LA Times:
“Right when the gate opened, I think it scared her,” Talamo said. “She hesitated. After that, there was nothing else to do but be patient.”
She was 13 lengths behind in last place when she started to show her talent.
“Eighth by eighth [pole], I let her pick it up little by little,” Talamo said.
Turning into the stretch, Market Quote unleashed a furious kick, charging on the outside and running down Top Kisser to win by a half-length in 1:34.86.
“For her to do what she did and run as fast as she did, it’s pretty amazing,” Talamo said. “John did an unbelievable job. He was pretty high on her. But I don’t think anybody was counting on that.”
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