She's No Quant © Benoit Photo
J. Paul Reddam’s homebred filly She’s No Quant overcame a bit of trouble during the running of the Fleet Treat Stakes Friday at Del Mar, then went on to score by a length over the heavily favored Mohaven in the seven-furlong filly test for 3-year-olds.
The gray by Pavel was handled smartly by top rider Juan Hernandez in the sprint, covering the distance in 1:23.10 to earn a first prize of $85,500 in the $151,500 test for Cal-breds. It was her third victory in her fifth start and boosted her bankroll to $180,900. All three of her victories have come with Hernandez in the tack. She paid $10 even to her backers in the crowd.
Mohaven, owned by Legacy Ranch, went off as the 4/5 favorite in the field of nine, but had to settle for second place. She was nine and a quarter length ahead of the third-place finisher, Gray, Lovingier, Moroney, et al’s Tapatia Mia.
The Fleet Treat was the first of eight Cal-bred stakes races that will be conducted during the 32-day meet at Del Mar.
The card also featured a Pick Six carryover of $192,793 that drew more than $1,000,000 in bets. In the end there were 10 winning tickets for the $2 bet with each lucky fan taking down a prize of $86,555.
Racing resumes at Del Mar Saturday with an 11-race card beginning at 2 p.m. The top event on the program is the Grade I, $400,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs.
JUAN HERNANDEZ (She’s No Quant, winner) – “We had a pretty good trip. Around the half mile (pole) we got put in tight and she switched to the wrong lead. But I let her work it out and we wound up fine. Then when we made the stretch, I asked her and she was there. Very nice late kick to win it.”
EDWARD FREEMAN (She’s No Quant, winner) – “She was in the gate a while and she gets a bit fidgety. I don’t think she broke quite with them and so then the other horses slammed her. For cheap horses that’s an excuse to pack it in but she isn’t. I asked Juan (Hernandez) about what happened around the turn, and he said the other Sadler squeezed her up a bit but as soon as she got clear he was pretty comfortable with her running down the favorite.”
FRACTIONS: :22.06 :44.69 1:10.11 1:23.10
The stakes win was the first of the meet for both rider Hernandez and trainer Freeman.
The stakes win in the Fleet Treat was the first for rider Hernandez. He now has 66 stakes wins at Del Mar.
The stakes win was the first in the Fleet Treat for Freeman. He now has five stakes scores at Del Mar.
The winning owner – and breeder – is J. Paul Reddam’s Redding Racing.