She had not won a race in four starts, going back to October
2, 2004. But Saturday afternoon, Fox Ridge Farm's 6-year-old Riskaverse
woke up before 15,737 Belmont Park fans to win the $750,000 Flower Bowl Invitational (G1) for fillies and mares at 10
furlongs on the inner turf course. Not only did she become the first back-to-back winner of the
Flower Bowl, but she did it at the expense of her old nemesis,
6-year-old Wonder Again, beating her by a head in 2:00.27. She returned $73.50 to the $2 win players who refused to believe that she was washed up.
Results Chart from DRF
"She loves Belmont," said trainer Pat Kelly. "We've been playing catch-up all summer. She trained really well since the race at Saratoga. She hurt her ankle in the New York Handicap. We had to back off her and start all over again. Usually, she has five or six races under her belt now, and she gets better in the fall. She's a great filly. She's the best filly I've ever had. I'm glad she bounced back and showed everyone who she is. I don't know how many have won the Flower Bowl two years in a row, but I can't imagine there are too many. Our goal is to get to the Breeders Cup this year. Jose (Santos) ran a great race. The seam opened up, and he took advantage of it. Our old friend, Wonder Again, was second. It seems like they've been going at it since they were 2."
Wonder Again, it should be noted, was third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf last year, beaten 1 3/4 lengths for it all by Ouija Board, with Film Maker second. She also loves Belmont Park, where she has a 4-3-2 record from 11 turf starts for trainer Jimmy Toner. "She ran very good," said Toner, who won the inaugural Filly & Mare Turf in 1999 with Soaring Softly. "She ran great, but what are you going to do? I guess the only thing you can say is that nice people won it. It's a tribute to what a marvelous job Pat (Kelly) has done with this filly. I know he's had his hands full with her all year. We're getting closer, and we have one more to go. So, we're not finished yet." Both Wonder Again and Riskaverse will be retired after the Breeders' Cup
The fans loved Melhor Ainda and their second choice in the Flower Bowl was Sand Springs, who took the role of pacesetter and set fractions of 24.73, 48.43, 1:12.26, and 1:36.29 on the good going. Santos, meanwhile, stalked from third, but stayed inside and rated for six furlongs. When he found the seam he wanted in deep stretch, he called on Riskaverse who remembered what to do in the Flower Bowl. "I loved my trip," Santos said. "I was very patient. I tried to get between the rail and (Jerry) Bailey's horse (Sand Springs) but Bailey had control of the filly. I decided to step out a little bit. She was very game. It was a great job by Pat Kelly."
Film Maker, whose jockey, Todd Kabel, couldn't make it and was replaced by Patrick Valenzuela, was a length back in third and Sand Spring was three-quarters of a length back in fourth. "I just hope I can keep Pat (Valenzuela) on her," said Film Maker's trainer, H. Graham Motion. "Nobody ever gets a chance to know her. Todd (Kabel) had trouble getting into the country this morning, and he couldn't make it. She ran huge. She's always right there."
Sundrop, Lune d'Or, Melhor Ainda, Secret Charm and Angara completed the order of finish, but Melhor Ainda was the race's disappointment. Her undefeated streak at Belmont Park came to an end with the worst finish of her seven-race career. "She didn't break again," said jockey John Velazquez. "I should have just dropped her in. She was relaxing well behind horses. When she got to the turn, another horse hit her and pushed her to the outside. That made her rank. I didn't want to keep taking a hold of her, so I let her run on the backstretch. I got a chance to sit again on her, but she just didn't have it in the stretch."
Jockey Club Gold Cup
Beldame Stakes
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational
The Vosburgh
Flower Bowl Invitational
