A thrilling stretch drive between She Feels Pretty and Grayosh came down to the wire with Grayosh successfully coming out on top at the wire to claim a neck victory in the G2 Lake Placid Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, 17 August.
The three-year-old filly became the first Graded Stakes winner for her sire, Yoshida, who just completed his first season at stud at Darley Japan.
Grayosh broke alertly and was forwardly placed by jockey Flavien Prat, content to sit just off the early leaders in third while saving ground along the inside hedge. Longtime leader, Ori (Hard Spun), continued to show the way into the far turn.
Grayosh moved off the hedge but was stuck between rivals and needed room to mount her challenge. The grey filly found a seam along the inside, splitting between a tiring Ori and a rallying She Feels Pretty with less than a furlong left to run. It was then a battle to the wire between Grayosh and She Feels Pretty, with the daughter of Yoshida prevailing by a short neck in a driving finish.
Grayosh was bred in Kentucky by Susan E. Bedwell and is out of Rosie O’Prado, a multiple Stakes-placed daughter of Paddy O’Prado. Rosie O’Prado is out of Stakes-placed Nashwan Rose, and hails from the family of Champions El Gran Senor, Try My Best, and Solar.
Since his first crop hit the track last year, Yoshida has sired 37 individual winners including fellow Stakes winners Desvio, Okiro and Santuario.
