Dramatic Rally Carries Hammy to Our Dear Peggy Victory

Super Sienna Scores 51-1 Upset in $75,000 Cellars Shiraz

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Five weeks after capturing her debut while running for a $25,000 tag, Starry Night Racing’s Hammy stepped up and became a stakes winner second time out by unleashing an eye-catching move on the far outside to sweep past rivals and win Friday’s $75,000 Our Dear Peggy at Gulfstream Park.

The Our Dear Peggy for 2-year-old fillies going a two-turn mile was the first of two $75,000 turf stakes on a 10-race Halloween Eve program followed by the 1 1/16-mile Cellars Shiraz for 3-year-old fillies, won in a 50-1 upset by Super Sienna.

Supplemented to the Our Dear Peggy by trainer Kent Sweezey and ridden for the second straight race by Marcos Meneses, Hammy ($7.40) covered a turf course rated good in 1:36.56. The granddaughter of 2016 Florida Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist was one of six horses coming into the race off a win.

“She’s still a little green but she did everything I wanted. She waited for me and made the move when I asked her. That’s the thing about the good horses,” Meneses said. “She was flying. It was unbelievable.”

Meneses settled Hammy along the rail near the back of a 10-horse group going into a tightly bunched first turn where Touch of Honor, first or second in all four of her starts, emerged with a clear lead after a quarter-mile in 24.60 seconds. Arindel homebred Smoke, racing first time for trainer Carlos David after six starts in Kentucky since April, continued to press the leader through a half in 49.35.

Midway around the far turn Meneses was able to tip Hammy to the outside for a clear run, and the Kentucky-bred daughter of multiple Grade 3 winner Scalding responded once straightened for home with a devastating turn of foot to win by 1 ¾ lengths.

“I just wanted to save ground and work out a trip,” Meneses said. “On the first turn I needed to pull up and when I was last I didn’t know if I had a chance or not. The good thing is the turf is a little soft, and I think that helped me a lot.”

Life’s Mystery got up to be second, a half-length ahead of Sucker for Looks, sent off as the narrow 5-2 favorite over Hammy. They were followed by Casablanca Queen, Touch of Honor, Smoke, Karolina Pharoah, Boots, Kissed by a Rose and Liberty Rings, a stakes winner on turf and dirt that was making her two-turn debut.

Super Sienna Scores 51-1 Upset in $75,000 Cellars Shiraz

Group 1 stakes-placed in her final start in Peru, Dona Licha Stables LLC’s Super Sienna pulled off a 51-1 upset in Friday’s $75,000 Cellars Shiraz stakes at Gulfstream Park in her second North American start.

The 3-year-old daughter of Mendelssohn was never a serious factor in her first start at Gulfstream at 5-1 odds in an allowance race over the Tapeta course but was never headed Friday while registering a gate-to-wire victory in the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds fillies.

“She’s a very good filly. The owner of the filly from Peru had very good comments on the filly. I liked the filly the first moment she came into my barn,” trainer Victor Barboza said. “Her last race, she had never run on the [Tapeta], and I don’t think she liked it for the first time. In the future, maybe.

Super Sienna set fractions of 22.50 and 46.84 seconds for the first half-mile under Edgar Perez before holding off Rogue Runner by a half-length while completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.94 over a good turf course. Rogue Runner prevailed by a head over Bayou Brigid for second money.

Day to Day, the 6-5 favorite in a field of 10, broke slowly from the starting gate and finished fifth.