Dickinson Upsets Lady Eli to Win G1 Coolmore Jenny Wiley

LEXINGTON, KY – Dickinson nipped 1-2 favorite Lady Eli by a head at the wire to win the 29th running of the Grade 1, $350,000 Coolmore Jenny Wiley for fillies and mares.

Ridden by Paco Lopez, who earlier won his first Keeneland stakes on Watershed in the Grade 3 Ben Ali, Dickinson covered the 1 1/16 miles over a firm turf course in 1:41.98 after spending much of the race without room to run.

“I had a little trouble,” Lopez said.  “I wanted to go through on the rail and it opened up a little bit, but I couldn’t get through.  When the other horse (Lady Eli) passed me, we got room and I still had a lot of filly.”

Catch a Glimpse led the field of eight through fractions of :23.74, :48.05, and 1:12.63 with Illuminant and Dickinson in closest pursuit, while Lady Eli raced sixth along the inner rail.  In the stretch, Lady Eli swung to the outside and surged to the front near the 1/8 pole and appeared to be home free in her first start in more than five months, only to be denied by Dickinson.

“Hats off to the winner,” said Chad Brown, Lady Eli’s trainer.  “Both ran well, but we just got beat right on the wire, just like we did in the Breeders’ Cup (Filly and Mare Turf in November).  It’s tough, but it was her first start of the year, so hopefully, she will move forward off of it.  We’ll get her back to Belmont Park and then pick out a race up there.  She is a neck and two noses from being undefeated.  She is a great horse and I am really proud of her effort today.  The horse that beat her is a very good horse as well.”

The victory was worth $210,000 and increased Dickinson’s earnings to $604,316 with a record of 14-7-1-2 that includes three consecutive graded stakes scores.

Dickinson is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Medaglia d’Oro out of the A.P. Indy mare Little Belle.

Quidura crossed the line in third, a little over a length behind the leaders.  Kitten’s Roar finished another nose back in fourth and was followed in order by Goodyearforroses, Time and Motion, Illuminant, and Catch a Glimpse.

Dickinson returned $14.40, $4.40, and $3.60.  Lady Eli brought back $2.40 and $2.10, while Quidura paid $5.40 to show.

Race Quotes

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., Lady Eli: “It was a perfect trip; I just got beat. She might have been waiting on horses. Maybe she moved a little too early.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado, Quidura: “I had a great trip. I stuck behind, in third or fourth or so. Great position. When I tipped her out in the clear at the 1/4 pole, she didn’t quicken up like I was expecting, probably because she’s coming off of a layoff (unraced since October 2016). Then Lady Eli went through, and my filly wasn’t quick enough to keep up with her. My filly started picking it up and grinding away more than quickening at that point. After that, she kept grinding and grinding. I thought she ran a great race coming off the layoff. We’re very happy with the way she ran. It was a great third and we know she’ll move forward from this race.”

Jockey Joel Rosario, Kitten’s Roar: “(Trainer Mike Maker) told me to let her settle wherever she was. She was a little farther back than I wanted to be, but it looked like they were going nice up front, and she was very comfortable and very happy. She put in a very nice run at the end. The first two, they were really running at the end. My horse put in a tremendous run at the end. Too bad we didn’t get there.”

Jockey Florent Geroux, Catch a Glimpse: “Great trip. She broke super sharp and made the lead nice and easy. She was just having fun out on the lead. I was pretty excited turning for home, but when they came, they just outran her in the end.”

Assistant trainer David Carroll, Catch a Glimpse: “She had a perfect trip. No excuses on the day. Florent Geroux commented how easy she was doing things. At the 1/4 pole, he said she felt like he had a lot of horse, but they quickened up and she just couldn’t go with them today.”

Keeneland