Already a group III winner in France,Goldy Espony secured her first North American graded stakes win when she led every step of the 1 1/2-mile Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes (gr. III) Saturday, Aug. 8 on the Saratoga Race Course turf.
With the victory in the $200,000 race for fillies and mares 3 and older, Swift Thoroughbreds and Bradley Thoroughbreds’ Goldy Espony extended her win streak to three straight races, including a front-running score in the River Memories Stakes July 5 at 1 1/2 miles on the Belmont Park turf.
In Saturday’s race, Goldy Espony and jockey Kendrick Carmouche cruised through a half-mile in :50.79 and a mile in 1:42.16, where the daughter of Vespone was briefly challenged by Kitten’s Point. But Chad Brown-trainee Goldy Espony proved to have another gear, soon opening a wide advantage and skipping home to a 3 1/4-length victory over runner-up Eastern Belle, with White Rose third.
Brown credited Carmouche in the victory as Goldy Espony enjoyed a clear advantage at every point of call.
“Kendrick rode a similar race last time in a stakes at Belmont and he got away easy. He had a plan when he came to the paddock, he was going to try to do the same thing and he did. He pulled it off again,” Brown said. “He just set really easy fractions and she had plenty left coming home. Those fractions were so easy early that she turned it into a sprint home. She’s a filly with a lot of quality that if you give her a head start, she’s going to be tough to run down.”
Goldy Espony completed the 1 1/2 miles on firm turf in 2:29.04. She returned $11.20 to win, $6.30 to place, and $4.30 to show. Eastern Belle paid $5.50 and $3.90 while White Rose returned $6.90 to show.
Goldy Espony was bred in France by Henri Alex Pantall and Yvette Chabot. In France she won last year’s Prix Penelope (Fr-III).
To view more go to www.bloodhorse.com