TWO-TURNS IS THE TICKET FOR COUNTESS COLETTE

Opportunity knocked and Countess Colette opened the door and ran away from the field. The two turns we were hoping for showed up in the condition book, our 3-year-old accredited filly had to step slightly out of her comfort zone, adding two furlongs to her effort while facing older and registered rivals – factors outweighed by the added distance she seemed to relish.

It was all right there for handicappers to see. While the Mapleton-bred had never been beyond 6 furlongs, here are the trip comments in the Daily Racing Form from her last three starts – all 2nd-place finishes – “Closed fast, up for place”, “Rallied three wide, up for place” and “Pinballed at the start, late gain.” The deal breaker for the walk to the betting window, were the italicized horses who finished in front of Countess Colette in her last two starts, meaning – both – came back and won their next start.(So much for the Handicapping 101 segment) Breaking from the inside of the seven-horse field, regular rider David Haldar kept her along the rail, settled in fourth for the early running. He eased her out mid-way down the backstretch and when given that breathing room, she picked up the pace and accelerated on the final turn. Like a sling-shot effect, she flew by the favorite, and according to the DRF, “...finished full of run to win going away under a strong hand ride.” “Countess Colette came back to the barn after her race bouncing and snorting! She ate up last night and will likely settle to be tired in a day or two,” said trainer Megan Fadlovich with an eye towards the next best move. “There are no more accredited conditions for her in the book. There is a stake December 19 that we will nominate to. It is an accredited, for the girls, 3-years-old and up going 1mile, and there is a girls registered non-winners of three, allowance race going long is the same day.” Let’s see what opportunity knocks the loudest for Countess Colette next!