Late Night Pow Wow Maintains Hot Streak in G3 Barbara Fritchie

LAUREL, MD – Breeze Easy’s Late Night Pow Wow had to fight hard to do so, but she maintained her impressive hot streak for at least one more race after winning Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Barbara Fritchie Stakes at Laurel Park.

Breaking from post 2 as the 2/1 favorite under Fredy Peltroche, Late Night Pow Wow settled along the inside just off of early leader Ms Locust Point through opening fractions of :22.55 and :45.29. Though she lost some ground down the backstretch, Late Night Pow Wow surged midway through the far turn and exploded through a hole along the inside, which also forced her top challenger Spiced Perfection to run three-wide in order to usurp a weakening Ms Locust Point. The two fillies fought each other gamely for the duration of the stretch, but in the end, the Javier Contreras trainee proved to be too tough. Late Night Pow Wow crossed with a head advantage in a final time of 1:21.61 for the 7-furlong sprint over the fast main track.

“I broke good and got good position and waited,” Peltroche said. “(Ms Locust Point) came in a little bit but I didn’t check my horse because I had a lot of horse. I sent her up the rail, and in the stretch, it was only the one filly coming. She likes the big stretch here. Her other races were easier, but this race was very tough.”

A mild rally late propelled Dawn the Destroyer up to third by a neck over Ms Locust Point, but the rest of the field was strung out behind them. Your Love took fifth over Shimmering Aspen, with Honor Way seventh and Devine Mischief eighth. My Cousin Martha and Lady Vicki completed the order of finish. Timeless Curls was scratched.

As a result of her victory, Late Night Pow Wow’s connections also won a breeding season to stallion Dortmund, courtesy of his owner, Kaleem Shah.

Late Night Pow Wow’s win was her ninth straight (including six in stakes events) and improved her overall record to 12-11-1-0, with her lone loss coming in the $50,000 Its Binn Too Long Stakes at Charles Town on April 21, 2018. The 4-year-old daughter of Fiber Sonde, who finished 2018 ranked 10th among all horses in total wins (8), has now earned $619,400 in her lifetime while racing exclusively first at Charles Town before relocating to Laurel Park.

“Every race, when you get out of town and start facing the real racehorses, it’s always a big deal,” Contreras said. “What an exciting thing. There’s no words to really describe it. It’s just amazing. She’s come a long way. A long way.”

Late Night Pow Wow returned $6 to win, $3 to place, and $2.80 to show. Spiced Perfection brought back $3.40 to place and $2.60 to show, while Dawn the Destroyer paid $3 to show.