SEVEN GRADED WINNERS CLASH IN G1 COTILLION

Army Wife
Army Wife won the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan. Photo by Allison Janezic.
  • userThe Biz
  • dateSeptember 20, 2021

The Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion, for sophomore fillies, has drawn nine entries, seven of them already having won a graded stake.

The top win of the group belongs to Maracuja. Like the little girl with the little curl, the daughter of Honor Code is very good when she’s good and not so much other times. She won the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks two back, defeating the very good Malathaat, but in her last start, she got away poorly and ended up seventh and last in the G1 Alabama.

Rob Atras trains her for Beach Haven Thoroughbreds LLC, Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds and Barry Fowler.

The second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers from the Alabama are all slated to face the starter in Bensalem.

Runner-up Clairiere has won twice in eight starts for trainer Steve Asmussen and owner Stonestreet Stables LLC. Her top victory came in February, when she scored in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra at the Fair Grounds. She has placed in five other graded events in a career in which her only out-of-the-money finish came when fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.

Alabama show horse Army Wife has won twice in graded company, her most significant win having come in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico. The Mike Maker trainee is four-for-10 in her career.

And Will’s Secret, who rounded out the Alabama superfecta, will take her shot, as well. Trained by Dallas Stewart for Willis Horton Racing, she’s won three of 10 starts. Her top win came in the Grade 3 Honeybee March 6 at Oaklawn Park. She’s also finished third twice in Grade 1 company: the Ashland April 3 and the Kentucky Oaks April 30.

Trainer John Servis will carry local hopes into the Cotillion. The Pennsylvania-bred Bandbox filly was second last out in the local prep for this event, the Cathryn Sophia Stakes. Two starts back, she scored a 10-1 upset in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks.

Leader of the Band has three wins from eight starts and has never been worse than third. She’s a homebred for SMD Ltd.

The Cotillion is 11th race on the 13-race card.

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