Lovely Bernadette Gets Ground-Saving Trip to Win Pin Oak Valley View

By Amy Owens —-

Lovely Bernadette Gets Ground-Saving Trip to Win Pin Oak Valley View

LEXINGTON, KY (Oct. 20, 2017) – James Miller’s Lovely Bernadette swept by pacesetting I’m Betty G inside the sixteenth pole and had more than enough left to hold off favored Journey Home by 1½ lengths to win the 27th running of the $150,000 Pin Oak Valley View for 3-year-old fillies before a Friday afternoon crowd of 18,378.

Trained by Jimmy DiVito and ridden by Florent Geroux, Lovely Bernadette covered the 1 1/16 miles on a firm turf course in 1:42.80. It was the second victory in the race for Miller, whose Daisy Devine won the race in 2011.

I’m Betty G led the field of 13 through fractions of :23.67, :48.03 and 1:12.69 with only token pressure coming from Defiant Honor while Geroux had Lovely Bernadette tucked next to the rail in the second flight.

Turning for home, the top two spurted clear of the field. At the eighth pole, Lovely Bernadette swung to the outside and quickly passed Defiant Honor and shortly thereafter disposed of I’m Betty G, who lost the runner-up spot to Journey Home near the finish.

Lovely Bernadette is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Wilburn out of the Bernstein mare Inlovewithlove. The victory was worth $90,000 and increased her earnings to $390,613 with a record of 13-6-0-3. It was her first graded stakes victory.

Lovely Bernadette returned $11.60, $5.60 and $4.40. Journey Home, ridden by Jose Ortiz, returned $4.40 and $4 with I’m Betty G finishing a head back in third and paying $7.20 to show under Julien Leparoux.
Fault finished another 2¾ lengths back in fourth and was followed in order by Defiant Honor, Chastise, Sully’s Dream, Fizzy Friday, Let It Ride Mom, Princess La Quinta, Dolce Lili, Youngest Daughter and Ladies’ Privilege.

Racing continues Saturday with a 10-race program that begins at 1:05 p.m. Headlining the card is the $250,000 Lexus Raven Run (G2) for 3-year-old fillies going 7 furlongs on the main track. Scheduled as the ninth race, post time for the Lexus Raven Run is 5:30 p.m.

Quotes from the $150,000 Pin Oak Valley View (G3)

Jimmy DiVito (winning trainer of Lovely Bernadette)

“Since we put her on the grass, it looks like she’s come around and turned around.”

On his desire to have jockey Florent Geroux get her out from the inside post position

“That’s the trick. When she gets clear, she takes off running. He did a great job of doing that. Once she got clear, I knew we had a big chance of winning.”

Florent Geroux (winning rider)

“My filly broke very sharp and from there it was just tracking the horse on the lead. I tried to nurse her and get her to relax. When I asked her turning for home, she gave me a very good kick.”

Jose Ortiz (rider of runner-up Journey Home)

“I had a perfect trip. She broke good and relaxed really well. (Trainer Graham Motion) told me to get her relaxed and save as much ground as I could. I followed (eventual fourth-place finisher Fault) all the way around. They took me to the quarter pole, and they went in and I went out. I have no excuse. She came home really, really fast and I think she will keep improving, especially in longer races.”

Julien Leparoux (rider of third-place finisher I’m Betty G)

“We were on the lead where we wanted to be, and she relaxed beautifully for me. She was doing it so easily that I thought I had a good chance to win the race. But she ran good and tried hard, so that’s all we can ask for. (The fractions) were pretty moderate, not fast so that was good.”
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On Saturday, Keeneland will offer a Pick Six carryover of $21,363.
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Keeneland, in partnership with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, on Friday hosted College Scholarship Day, which drew thousands of college students who registered to win prizes and $1,000 scholarships awarded after each of the day’s 10 races. Also presented was the $10,000 Runhappy Scholarship, won by Mary Kay Montray. A native of Chicago, Montray is a sophomore at the University of Kentucky who is studying psychology with a minor in family sciences. She hopes to become a child life specialist.
College Scholarship Day marked Montray’s second time at Keeneland. She first visited the track last spring with her mother.
“It’s just fun, I like being outdoors, so this is the perfect atmosphere,” Montray said. “I’m going to put the money towards school for sure. That will help a lot.”