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Linda’s Lace Upsets in Frances Slocum
Linda’s Lace and rider Rafael Hernandez pulled in a big upset in the 12th running of the Frances Slocum Stakes Saturday, Oct. 17. The six-year-old mare bested a field of 11 to win the largest share of the $70,000 purse.
Starting from post 11, Linda’s Lace followed the pack out of the gate and stayed to the outside in the tightly bunched field as Hey There Cupcake and Tommy Pompell had the first lead in the one and one-sixteenth mile event. Brean Can and Rodney Prescott stayed close on the outside to apply pressure to the pace. Heavily-favored Trust N Seven and Leandro Goncalves laid off the front runners by several lengths heading to the halfway marker.
“I didn’t want to get in a hurry,” said Hernandez. “I just wanted to keep her on the outside and out of the dirt.”
Heading into the turn, the entire field remained tightly bunched and traffic became a potential problem. Linda’s Lace came to life and used one move to circle her opponents, getting the first call at the front halfway through the turn.
In the stretch, Linda’s Lace locked up with Brean Can for the final furlong of the race. Brean Can did not give in, but Linda’s Lace had more momentum to reach the wire by one and one-quarter lengths ahead of Brean Can. Trust N Seven finished third.
“In the stretch, I had a lot of horse,” said Hernandez. “I just wanted until we got into the stretch a little before I really started riding.”
Linda’s Lace now has eight wins in 31 starts. The daughter of Is Sveikatas increased her career bankroll to more than $250,000 with the stakes victory, her seventh overall over Hoosier Park’s oval. Bob Zahl, who was sporting his lucky fishing hat in the winner’s circle, owns, trains and cares for Linda’s Lace.
“I had never ridden this horse (Linda’s Lace) before,” said Hernandez. “But Bob (Zahl) talked to me about a week ago and explained how she likes to run. He told me to make one big move with her, and that’s what I did. It worked out perfectly.”
