My Majestic Rose Fights Furiously for Summertime

ARCADIA, CA – Judy Hicks’ homebred My Majestic Rose fought furiously to wear down the very tough 4/5 favorite Sneaking Out to win Sunday’s $200,000 Summertime Oaks (G2) at Santa Anita Park.

Breaking from the rail under Flavien Prat at 5/1 odds, My Majestic Rose settled into third heading into the clubhouse turn while Sneaking Out posted opening fractions of :23.49, :47.44, and 1:12.49. Still in hand as she raced comfortably in her stalking position, My Majestic Rose tipped off the rail midway through the far turn and met the pacesetter’s throat latch midway through.

Sneaking Out fought back along the rail, and at the top of the stretch, it turned into a match race. Head to head as they raced strongly down the stretch, it was impossible to predict a winner. Inside the 1/16 pole, My Majestic Rose finally began to wear down her opponent enough to stick her head in front. The Rodolphe Brisset trainee crossed with a 1/2-length advantage in a final time of 1:45.08 for the 1 1/16-mile event over the fast main track.

“We had a good trip,” Prat said. “She relaxed very well and she was going real easy up the backside. At the 3/8 (pole), I asked her and she was right there for me. When she made the lead, she waited on that other filly a bit, but then she got back to business.”

Running gamely in defeat, Sneaking Out was well clear of the rest of the field, finishing 4 1/4 lengths ahead of Colonial Creed. The rest of the field was similarly strung out, with Bizwhacks and Flor de La Mar completing the order of finish.

My Majestic Rose’s win was her second straight, having broken her maiden last out while going a mile over a sloppy (sealed) Churchill Downs main surface on May 2. The 3-year-old daughter of Majestic Warrior improved her record to 6-2-2-1 with $207,028 earned.

“The way she hit the front today is one of the reasons we decided to put the blinkers on,” Brisset said. “She can lose focus pretty quick. The first time she ran, she ran a beautiful race without them. When I stretched her out to a mile and 1/16 at the Fair Grounds, it was the worst race ever. She acted like she’s never been on a race track before. So she really seemed to need them, and as soon as we added them, she’s changed.”

My Majestic Rose returned $13.80 to win, $4.60 to place, and $2.80 to show. Sneaking Out brought back $2.60 to place and $2.10 to show, while Colonial Creed paid $2.80 to show.