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Come Fly Away
Photo Credit: Jim McCue/MJC
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BALTIMORE, 05-24-08---With nowhere to go as the field raced around the turn, Bill & Vicki Poston’s Come Fly Away found a narrow opening along the rail and bounded through to victory in the $50,000 Shine Again Stakes for Maryland-bred fillies and mares.
Ridden for the first time by Luis Garcia, Come Fly Away beat gallant Take a Check to the finish line by a half-length in 1:44.75 for the 1-1/16th mile distance. Hanalei Bay finished another half-length back in third. The 4-year-old filly paid $3.40.
“I knew I had the best horse in the race,” Garcia said. “I had enough horse to save ground and took my time. The rail opened, I went for it and she won easy.”
This was the first stakes win in fifteen starts for the daughter of El Prado, who is trained by Michael Hushion at Belmont Park. Come Fly Away finished third place in the Geisha Stakes on opening weekend of the spring meeting at Old Hilltop behind Lexi Star, who finished second in the Allaire duPont (Grade II) on Preakness day and Spectacular Malibu, who took an allowance race at Belmont Park in her most recent start. This was the fifth consecutive start in Maryland for Come Fly Away. She had two wins and a fourth place finish during the Laurel Park winter stand.
“Mike wanted to bring her down here because she’s a Maryland-bred,” assistant trainer Graham Wolfram said, “He brought her down here the first of the year, ran well each time and hoping to get some black type on her. It worked out today. Those fillies in front of her last time, their form carried to their next race and this filly ran her race today.”
It was the sixth runner-up finish in a stakes race for Take a Check, who has now collected a check in 43 of 45 career races. The daughter of Touch Gold also has eight third place finishes in 25 career stakes races for trainer Richard Small.
“She ran big,” said Nick Santagata, who was aboard the runner-up.
-MJC-