Apple Betty (IRE) Romps to Victory in Rood & Riddle Dowager

By Amy Owens —-

Apple Betty (IRE) Romps to Victory in Rood & Riddle Dowager

LEXINGTON, KY (Oct. 22, 2017) – Joseph Allen’s Apple Betty (IRE), denied victory in this race last year by a nose, left no doubt Sunday as she exploded to a 3½-length victory over Promotional to win the 26th running of the $125,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager (G3) for fillies and mares before a Heroes Day presented by Papa John’s crowd of 16,650.
Trained by Shug McGaughey and ridden by John Velazquez, Apple Betty covered the 1½ miles on a firm turf course in 2:30.80. It was the second victory in the race for McGaughey, who won the 2010 running with Casablanca Smile (CHI).
Daddy’s Boo set an uncontested pace with Daring Duchess tracking in second while Velazquez was giving Apple Betty a ground-saving trip next to the rail in third. Daddy’s Boo maintained her lead to the top of the stretch where she left enough room along the rail for Apple Betty to slip through and roar past to eliminate any doubt regarding the outcome.
The victory was worth $75,000 and increased Apple Betty’s earnings to $290,619 with a record of 14-5-1-4. It was the first graded stakes victory in the U.S. for Apple Betty, a 4-year-old daughter of Galileo (IRE) out of the Mozart (IRE) mare Absolutelyfabulous.
Apple Betty returned $8, $4.60 and $3.20. Promotional, ridden by Corey Lanerie, returned $7.20 and $4.40 with favored Lottie finishing another 1¼ lengths back in third under Jose Ortiz and paying
$3 to show.
It was another 5¾ lengths back to Grateful in fourth with Coco Channel, Place des Vosges, Daring Duchess, Polar Vortex, Daddy’s Boo and Bootsy’s Girl following in order.
Racing for the final week of Keeneland’s Fall Meet resumes Wednesday with an eight-race program that begins at 1:05 p.m. ET.

Quotes from the $125,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager (G3)

Shug McGaughey (winning trainer of Apple Betty [IRE])

“When I ran her at Saratoga (in the Aug. 5 Waya-G3), I ran her back too quick, and she got pushed along a little bit. We gave her the break with this race in mind. She had trained really strong. My main concern is just getting her to settle. There was some speed in here, so she was able to lay in behind. You just gotta let her do her thing. She was in behind horses today, and the way he (jockey John Velazquez) was able to wait for that hole and be able to finish was a big key.”

John Velazquez (winning rider)

“She did it pretty good. She’s been kind of fighting the lead the whole time (in her previous races). We decided to take her back a little bit since there was a little more speed. They didn’t go very fast, but I got her to settle behind other horses. Once I got her through (on the inside to move toward the lead) at the quarter pole, she did it pretty easily.”

Corey Lanerie (rider of runner-up Promotional)

“We had some traffic down the lane and I was doing a lot of steering in and out. My filly ran great and I think the winner had to overcome a little adversity, too. All in all, we were second best today. What a tremendous race she ran. With a smooth trip, who knows? In these mile and a half races, you always expect them to go slow (on the lead) but you never really know what is going to happen. I rode from the start and found myself looking for cover (behind horses) and once we got there, we just had to play the cards we were dealt and try to find a seam (to get through) turning for home.”

Jose Ortiz (rider of third-place finisher Lottie)

“Beautiful (trip). She broke good and put me into a good position. They went a little slow early but they picked up the pace in the backstretch a little bit. The winner had a perfect trip and when Johnny (Velazquez) asked her to go, she kicked on really, really well. My filly was outrun but she stayed and she ran her race. My filly’s not push-button, she’s a grinder; you’ve got to really ride her and she’ll eventually get going. But when I saw that Johnny got through, it was over. He had a lot of horse.”

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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.

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On Sunday’s Heroes Day presented by Papa John’s, Keeneland honored members of the military, first responders and their families. Members of the Henry Clay High School Junior ROTC, joined by representatives from Lexington’s fire and police departments, unfurled the American flag on the track.
In conjunction with Heroes Day, Keeneland and Papa John’s partnered in a three-week fundraising offer to benefit Supporting Heroes, a Louisville-based organization that honors the service and sacrifice of public safety heroes who give their lives in the line of duty by caring for the loved ones they leave behind. Supporting Heroes serves Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri. On behalf of Supporting Heroes, Executive Director Eric Johnson accepted a donation of $28,840.19 from Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason and Lynn McQuillen and Hillary Simmons of Papa John’s. (See attached photo.)