IN THE SLIPS, the newly turned 3-year-old daughter of MORE THAN READY, celebrated the first day of the new season with an impressive victory in the $75,950 Blue Norther Stakes going one mile over the firm turf course at Santa Anita Park.
Campaigned in Europe for most of 2009, IN THE SLIPS made her U.S. debut with a second place finish in the G3 Miesque Stakes at Hollywood Park on November 29. Settling near the back of the field until the final turn, she was closing into a pedestrian pace. Four wide coming off the turn, she got rolling and uncorked a final furlong that likely shaded eleven seconds to win by a head.
“I was very confident in her today,” said winning rider Garrett Gomez said after dismounting from In the Slips. “I knew she was pretty much better than those other fillies. She’s becoming more Americanized, but I wanted to keep her covered up as much as I could. My only concern was that I wanted to make sure that she’d be able to quicken off the last turn, and she was able to do that. She finished up really good. She’s getting better and better.”
“She showed she had talent from the time I got her," said her trainer Jeff Mullins. "She showed it in her last race. I don’t know what might be next. There isn’t a race on the grass for her here in two months.”
IN THE SLIPS has three wins, one second and one third in seven starts and she has earned $113, 284. Produced by the Cozzene mare, Tjinouska, she races for Michael House. |