BY BROCK SHERIDAN

C2 Racing Stable LLC and Stefania Farms LLC’s Mystic Lake led from start to finish to dominate the Grade 3 Miss Preakness, winning by six lengths at Pimlico Race Course Friday.

With Flavien Prat riding for the first time, Mystic Lake burst from post one to quickly put a length lead on the 11 other 3-year-old fillies in the six-furlong Miss Preakness. Mystic Lake continued to keep her length advantage down the backstretch as Any Limit-winner Launch gave chase in second while just ahead of Fern Creek-winner and 2-1 post time favorite Youalmosthadme and longshot Miss Harriet.

Mystic Lake scampered through a quick quarter-mile in :23 flat and maintained her margin under a motionless Prat around the far turn before darting away from her challengers passing the quarter-pole in :46.44.

Prat threw a cross at the top of the stretch and Mystic Lake responded with a determined four-and-a-half-length victory in 1:11.40 on the fast track.

Youalmosthadme was second, a length-and-a-quarter ahead of Discreet Ops in third. Cap Classique, Lady Moscato, Florida-bred Belle’s Blue Bell, Value Area, Carmelia, Launch, Miss Harriett, Closing Act and Florida-bred Let Them Watch completed the order of finish.

“She jumped very well and got an early good position and she did the rest from there,” Prat said.

“She always runs forward, obviously. Here it was the one-hole. You’ve got to break well, but she did and it turned out well.”

Mystic Lake paid $13.60 to win at 5-1 odds.

It was the second stakes victory of the year for the Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Mystic Lake, who won the $100,000 Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies on Florida Cup Day at Tampa Bay Downs on March 24. She followed that with a second-place finish to Florida-bred Sabatini in the CA$128,250 Star Shoot going six furlongs on the synthetic main track at Woodbine on April 27 in her last race before the Miss Preakness.

“She is just a consistent filly and she ran big today,” Joseph told the Pimlico publicity staff by phone from South Florida. “She has run well on the dirt. She has won her last three on the dirt.

“The only blemish on her record was her first time on the dirt [in her career debut last August at Gulfstream when ninth]. For some reason she did not break that day and ran poorly.

“I am just thankful to get this win. To win a graded stake for the owners. They have been great supporters of us. Her strategy is to go to the lead and go as far as she can and as fast as she can. That is her strategy; there are no two ways about it.

“We were facing some good horses today and we were going to get a class test. She showed up, big time.”

She also counts among her stakes victories the $75,000 Gasparilla going seven furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 13.

Mystic Lake has now won four of nine starts with two seconds and a third. The $90,000 first-place check increased her career revenues to $291,554.

Bred in Florida by Peggy Costanzo of Englewood, Fla., Mystic Lake is by Mo Town out of Salty Soul, by Itsmyluckyday. Mytic Lake is the only foal out of Salty Soul, who was purchased by South Paw for $30,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Mytic Lake twice sold at Ocala Breeders’ Sales. She was consigned by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield at the 2022 October Yearling Sale where Tom McCrocklin as an agent purchased her for $3,500. McCrocklin then consigned her at the 2023 OBS March Sale where Turf Express Racing Partners bought her for $130,000.

She was cataloged in the Fasig-Tipton May Digital Sale which closed Tuesday. But she did not meet her reserve.

 

Return to May 17 issue of Wire to Wire