Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Philip Steinberg's homebred Got Lucky turned the tables on rival Stiffed in emphatic fashion July 3, pouncing first and pulling away to win by 5-1/2 lengths in the $150,000 Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Off at 1-5 odds under Paco Lopez, the 4-year-old daughter of A.P. Indy stalked early leader J's Two Step Halo in third and blew by coming out of the final turn in the 1-1/16-mile dirt test. Stiffed closed from last in the six-horse field to finish second, but could not make up significant ground on the winner.
Last time out, Stiffed was a half-length better than Got Lucky in the Monmouth Beach Stakes. The Molly Pitcher victory is Got Lucky's first graded stakes score.
J's Two Step Halo set early fractions of :24.46 seconds, :49.85 seconds, and 1:14.38 through a six furlongs, before Got Lucky took command, running the mile in 1:38.30 and hitting the wire in 1:44.12.
"I knew Stiffed would be coming to the outside again," Lopez said. "This time the pace was a little easier for us. We were able to sit comfortably just off the pace along the backstretch. She wanted to go a little early, but I had to hold her back. Once we were in the clear I let her go, she sprinted away perfectly."
J's Two Step Halo held to finish third, 4-1/4 lengths behind Stiffed. Lucky Liberty was fourth, followed by Oasis At Midnight and Mary n' Eileen to complete the order of finish.
The winner paid $2.60, $2.10, and $2.10 across the board. Stiffed returned $2.80 and $2.40, while J's Two Step Halo brought $5.
"She was impressive today," said Anthony Sciametta Jr., assistant to winning trainer Todd Pletcher. "She stumbled just a bit out of the gate, but seemed to overcome that just fine. It looked like she was on cruise control out there and [Lopez] just steered her in the right direction."
Got Lucky was bred in Kentucky, out of the Deputy Minister mare Malka. She has a 4-5-0 record from 13 starts and earnings of $451,340.