Eyeinthesky Storms Late to Win Galway

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – A day after another of his fillies won the Fourstardave Handicap (G1), Gary Barber’s Eyeinthesky stormed home late to get up just at the wire and win Sunday’s $100,000 Galway Stakes at Saratoga.

Breaking from the far outside post 10 under Joel Rosario as the 5/2 favorite, Eyeinthesky was unhurried early so that Rosario could tuck her in and save some ground. Sister Peacock took command early and posted opening fractions of :21.81 and :44.11.

As the field rounded the far turn, Rosario swung Eyeinthesky out four-wide and she commenced her rally to the front. Closing late in deep stretch along with Abyssinian, Eyeinthesky drifted in slightly, forcing O’Keefe to steady, but Rosario kept her mind on business.

In the shadow of the wire, Eyeinthesky got her head in front of Abyssinian’s to win the 5 1/2-furlong sprint over the firm outer turf course in 1:01.39.

“I was saving a little ground around the turn to give her a chance to go ahead and go on,” Rosario said. “For a second, I thought she wasn’t going to get there, but she kept coming and coming and got the final jump. Last time when I rode her, I went wide a little bit on the turn, and this time, I just saved a little ground. We got there just in time.”

Seemingly running too good to lose, Abyssinian was a neck ahead of a stubborn Sister Peacock, who refused to yield even after getting caught late. A length behind them came Brooke Marie, who was a neck and a nose ahead of O’Keefe and Bohemian Bourbon. Further back came Missmizz, Karama, Elsa, and Chelsea Cloisters to complete the order of finish. Peaceful and Tobago were unable to draw in from the Also-Eligible list.

Eyeinthesky’s win was her third of the year and her second at the stakes level, having won the Mizdirection Stakes at Aqueduct in April. The 3-year-old daughter of Sky Mesa improved her career mark to 14-4-2-2 with $242,536 earned.

“Even though this is her second New York stakes win, she’s showed some things that there’s still some untapped talent there,” winning trainer Mark Casse said. “It may not come until she’s 4. I’ll probably do similar to what we did with (Fourstardave winner) Got Stormy and run her one more time, and then give her a few months off and try to bring her back as a 4-year-old.”

Eyeinthesky returned $7.50 to win, $4.10 to place, and $3 to show. Abyssinian brought back $12 to place and $6.20 to show, while Sister Peacock paid $4.60 to show.