A Little Bit Sassy Wins 29th Running of the Edgewood

May 02, 2014

Ramona Bass' A Little Bit Sassy pulled away from Istanford late to prevail by 1 ¼ lengths and win the 29th running of the $171,750 Edgewood Presented by Forcht Bank for 3-year-old fillies.

Trained by Michael Matz and ridden by Luis Saez, A Little Bit Sassy covered the 1 1/16 miles on a firm Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:42.79.

Istanford, ridden by Javier Castellano, took the early lead and held a daylight advantage through fractions of :24.06 and :48.44 with A Little Bit Sassy tracking in second. Saez sent A Little Bit Sassy after Istanford midway on the far turn and drew even at the head of the lane.

Istanford stubbornly clung to the lead until the eighth pole when A Little Bit Sassy slowly began to pull away.

The victory was worth $102,226 and improved A Little Bit Sassy's earnings to $165,758 with a record of 5-2-2-0.

A Little Bit Sassy is a Kentucky-bred daughter of More Than Ready out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Miss A. Bomb.

A Little Bit Sassy returned $10.20, $4.80 and $3.20. Istanford paid $6.40 and $4.60 with Little Journey (FR) rallying for third another neck back under Jose Lezcano and paying $4.20 to show.

V V Goodnight finished another neck back in fourth and was followed in order by Granny Mc's Kitten, Courageous Julie, Miss Machiavelli, Candy Kitty and Fonepferesh (IRE).

EDGEWOOD QUOTES

LUIS SAEZ, rider of A Little Bit Sassy (winner) – 'The last two times she tried to run on the front because she is very fast. But today, the trainer (Michael Matz) told me to break and take her back and she did great. I got her to relax and when I got in the stretch she responded to me very well. I had so much horse. She was very impressive.

RAMONA BASS, owner of A Little Bit Sassy (winner) – 'She's just a lovely filly. We've been excited about her from the beginning. I fell in love with her at Keeneland (2012 September Sale). I had to have her. Thankfully, she's really run well. I think we're going to have a lot of fun with her.'

JAVIER CASTELLANO, rider of Istanford (second) – 'She settled well today. I liked the way she ran. She did everything right but win.'

MIKE STIDHAM, trainer of Istanford (second) – '(Jockey) Javier (Castellano) had her in the right spot. She was relaxed, doing it nicely. We just got beat by a better horse today.'

JOSE LEZCANO, rider of (Little Journey (third) — 'I had a very good trip. She had a good trip. I think she was a little fresh. But she settled and ran good.'

Churchill Downs, the world's most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America's greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on May 3, 2014. The 2014 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs is scheduled for April 26-June 29. The track has hosted the Breeders' Cup World Championships a record eight times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.ChurchillDowns.com.