Kentucky-bred Chi Town Lady made her first foray into Grade 1 company a winning one, rallying from last to win the seven-furlong Test S. (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, Aug. 6.
Breaking from the outside in post position No. 7 under Joel Rosario, Chi Town Lady settled at the back of the pack early as Hot Peppers led the field through an opening quarter-mile in :22.54 over a track labeled as good. Odds-on favorite Matareya produced a strong charge outside Hot Peppers into the lane, but it was Chi Town Lady who was traveling best of all in the stretch. With a strong late surge, Chi Town Lady collared the leading pair and drew clear late to score by 1 ½ lengths in a final time of 1:23.87 for trainer Wesley Ward.
“We got lucky,” said Wesley Ward. “She had been training great and I was looking at this race after her last race in my mind and gave her a little time because she started coming from behind. I had Joel work her here a couple of times and she was just working phenomenally. She’s come a long way. I just think that I had to kind of learn to listen to her to where she wanted to go easy the first part and come on late. This will be her running style from now on.”
Owned by Castleton Lyons and bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons, Kilboy Estate, and Gavin Tierney, Chi Town Lady increased her bankroll to $417,800 with the win, and she improved her record to 7-3-1-0. The Test marked her first Graded score and it was her second stakes win overall after winning last year’s Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga.
Chi Town Lady is a 3-year-old chestnut daughter of Verrazano out of the Harlan’s Holiday mare Toni’s Hollyday.