Photo:
Gary Johnson / Eclipse Sportswire
Slay the Day lived up to her 3-5 post-time favoritism with a prominent score in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Soaring Softly, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies over Saratoga’s Mellon turf, to close out the stakes action at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
Trained by Brian Lynch, the Into Mischief bay has finished first or second in her last six races and has squared off with Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint victress Cy Fair in her last two outings. Slay the Day won the Limestone (G3), where Cy Fair was third, two starts back on April 10 at Keeneland and landed a game second behind her last out in the Mamzelle (G3) on April 30 at Churchill Downs.
“She’s been in good form and trained well going into it,” Lynch said. “She ran awesome no doubt about it, but we’d have been disappointed if she didn’t show up because she was in such good order going into the race.”
The speedy filly, under Hall of Famer John Velazquez, emerged cleanly from post 4 of 7 and vied for early command before Alpenglow sprinted up from the outside post to take the lead through the opening quarter-mile in 21.33 seconds over the firm turf.
Slay the Day stuck close to the inside of a leaning Alpenglow, and the two brushed in the turn before Slay the Day put her neck in front without being asked. Should’ve was angled three-wide in pursuit with Kingsolver moving even wider to give chase into the lane, but Slay the Day was already drawing clear through the half-mile in 44.05 and stayed strong to cross the wire 2 3/4 lengths in front of the late-running Hen Party in a final time of 1:01.02.
Cadenza finished a half-length back of Hen Party in third with Flowerhead completing the superfecta. Kingsolver, Should’ve and Alpenglow rounded out the order of finish, and main-track-only entrant Niche was scratched.
Lynch said he was pleased to see Slay the Day show patience Sunday.
“As she’s matured into racing, she’s got tactical where she can switch on and switch off,” Lynch said. “She doesn’t seem when she gets hooked that she gets aggressive or wants to go head-and-head. It seemed like Johnny could take her back a bit today and then go forward whenever he wanted to. It’s starting to look like she’s getting a bit push-button, which is fantastic as we move forward.”
Velazquez, aboard for Slay the Day’s last five outings, said her performance was unsurprising.
“I was expecting that out of her for sure. Especially versus these horses, I knew when I asked her, she was going to be there,” Velazquez said. “I just didn’t want to use her too much the first part of the race.
“I was pretty confident with her today,” he added. “Obviously, the other horse (Cy Fair) beat her last time, we beat her the time before, those are two good horses, so it depends on the trip. The other one got a good trip last time.”
Lynch said the 6 1/2-furlong $1.5 million Music City on Sept. 5 at Kentucky Downs is likely the next target for the talented filly.
“That would be the goal that’s on our radar but getting it done there today was just what we wanted to do and fortunately she showed up and ran like we thought she would,” Lynch said. “I think we’ll bring her home and train her right into it now.”
Flavien Prat, aboard the late-footed runner-up Hen Party, said the daughter of Into Mischief’s run from last came too late.
“I just couldn’t get her involved in the race at all, the first part,” Prat said of the Eoin Harty-trained filly. “She just didn’t want to be part of it. Finally, when we turned for home, she swapped leads and gave me a run. She barely ran on the backside and the bend, which was very strange, but then she made a good run.”
Bred in Kentucky by Pin Oak Stud and racing for Flying Dutchmen, Slay the Day was a $110,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the dual stakes-placed Tapit mare Mind Out, a half-sister to dual Sovereign Award winner Miss Mischief. Slay the Day banked $110,000 in victory and returned $3.36 on a $2 win ticket.
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