Sherwood Lady posts White Alley upset

Racing at Charles Town. Photo by Coady Photography.

Four-year-old Sherwood Lady had a pretty remarkable 2019 season, winning six times while making 20 — yes, twenty — starts. She earned more than $107,000 during the season.

What she didn’t do — and hadn’t done in her career — however, was win a stake.

On Saturday, in her first start of the new year, the Fiber Sonde filly added one of those to her resume, posting a hard-fought, one-length victory in the $35,000 White Alley Overnight Stakes at Charles Town Races.

The win was the eighth of her career, in 28 starts, and moved her past the $150,000 mark.

Under jockey Sylvester Carmouche, III, Sherwood Lady broke alertly to set the pace along the rail. Though the fractions were manageable — 24.42 for the opening quarter-mile, the half gone in 48.46 seconds — it wasn’t an easy trip. Sherwood Lady had company from Gold and Strike through the first five furlongs of the 6 1/2-furlong affair, with latter reaching even terms along the backstretch.

Rounding the turn, though, Sherwood Lady kicked clear, and in the final furlong she opened a three-length lead. She had plenty left to hold safe the willing late run of the 1-2 favorite, She’s Quiet, who had nowhere to go when the race was being decided and kicked home too late.

She’s Quiet grabbed second, and it was another length-and-a-half back to Frigid Sister in third. Running time for the distance over a muddy, sealed main track was 1:20.50.

Sherwood Lady returned $20,80 to win as the fourth choice in the field of six. The exacta, with the favorite in second, paid $23.30 for a buck.

Sherwood Lady is trained by Michael Jones, Jr. for Top Notch Racing. She was bred in West Virginia by John McKee.

For trainer Jones, it was the first career stakes win, according to Equibase, and it was Carmouche’s first stakes win since 2010.

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