Sweet Loretta Wins Adena Springs Beaumont to Give Pletcher Record-Equaling 50th Keeneland Stakes Victory

By Amy Owens —-

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LEXINGTON, KY (April 9, 2017) – St. Elias Stable’s Sweet Loretta made a triumphant return to the races as she drew off for a three-length victory over Sine Wave in the 32nd running of the $150,000 Adena Springs Beaumont (G3) for 3-year-old fillies before a Sunday afternoon crowd of 18,879.

Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Javier Castellano, Sweet Loretta covered the Beard Course distance of 7 furlongs, 184 feet in 1:27.77 over a fast track.

The victory gave Pletcher his 50th Keeneland stakes victory and moved him into a tie with D. Wayne Lukas for most stakes wins in Keeneland history.

One other Pletcher stakes victory came in the 2002 Beaumont with Proper Gamble, who was the first of Castellano’s 32 Keeneland stakes victories. Castellano also won the race in 2014 on Ready to Act.

Promises Broken set the pace while under pressure from Sine Wave as Castellano saved ground next to the rail in the early going. At the head of the stretch, Castellano shot through an opening along the rail and quickly assumed command and never was threatened the rest of the way.

The victory was worth $90,000 and increased Sweet Loretta’s earnings to $340,520 with four wins in five starts. The lone blemish on Sweet Loretta’s record came with an 11th-place finish in the
14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) in her previous start in November.

The victory also gave Sweet Loretta 10 qualifying points toward the $1 million Kentucky Oaks, a total that will not boost her into the top 14 point getters, the maximum number of starters for the May 5 race.

A graduate of Keeneland’s 2014 November Breeding Stock Sale, Sweet Loretta is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Tapit out of the Bluegrass Cat mare Ithinkisawapudycat.

Sent off as the favorite in the field of seven, Sweet Loretta returned $4.40, $3.60 and $3. Sine Wave, ridden by Florent Geroux, returned $11.60 and $5.60 with Laney finishing another 3½ lengths back in third under Julien Leparoux and paying $5.80 to show.

Promises Broken finished fourth and was followed in order by My Miss Chiff, Dancing Rags and Treble.
Racing resumes Wednesday with an eight-race program beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET.

Quotes from the $150,000 Adena Springs Beaumont (G3)

Click here for a replay of the race

Javier Castellano (winning rider of Sweet Loretta)
“I had a really good trip. I was inside all the way and saved all the ground the best I could. Turning for home, the rail was open and I took my shot. She finished really well. I give all the credit to (trainer) Mr. (Todd) Pletcher for the way he trained the filly, coming off a layoff after the Breeders’ Cup (Juvenile Fillies-G1).”

Ginny DePasquale (assistant to winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who now has 50 stakes wins at Keeneland to tie D Wayne Lukas atop the list of the track’s all-time leading stakes-winning trainers)
“She’s been training very well lately. She hasn’t missed a beat, so we expected big things from her today. She stepped up to the plate today. We’re very happy.”
On her next race
“I’m not sure what it is. I’m sure (Todd) is going to talk to (owner Vincent Viola) and figure it out between the two of them.”

Florent Geroux (rider of runner-up Sine Wave)
“I was in the two path pretty much the whole way. She tried really, really hard. The winner was the best filly in the race, but my filly dug in and tried really hard.”

Julien Leparoux (rider of third-place finisher Laney)
“It was a good trip. She closed and kept with it so it was good. The winner (Sweet Loretta) went pretty easy. I thought maybe at one point we would be second, but she ran a big race.”

Robby Albarado (rider of fourth-place finisher Promises Broken)
“That (being in the lead after a sharp break) wasn’t the plan. Up the backside, I was hoping and hoping someone would run up the inside so I could lay off the pace but no one did Pace was pretty rapid. It was fast. She ran as hard as she could, as far as she could. She’s a nice filly.”

Angel Cruz (rider of sixth-place finisher Dancing Rags, winner of Keeneland’s Darley Alcibiades-G1 in October who was making her 2017 debut in the race)
“I was outside and when I tried to save some ground, the dirt hit her and she didn’t like that. When I asked her to run, she didn’t have it today. Maybe next time.”

Graham Motion (trainer of Dancing Rags):
“It’s a little disappointing. They ran away from her early on, which I expected, but I am surprised she didn’t run on a little bit at the end. Angel Cruz did exactly what I asked him to do, which was not to rush her. She will stretch out and go two turns next time.”

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For more than 80 years, the Keeneland Association has devoted itself to the health and vibrancy of the Thoroughbred industry. As the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction company, Keeneland conducts sales every January, September and November. Its sales graduates dominate racing across the globe at every level. In April and October, Keeneland offers some of the highest caliber and richest Thoroughbred racing in the world. In 2015, Keeneland hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Uniquely structured, Keeneland is a private, for-profit corporation that returns its earnings to the industry and the community in the form of higher purses, and it has donated millions of dollars in charitable contributions for education, research and health and human services throughout Central Kentucky. To learn more about Keeneland, visit Keeneland.com.