G2-Winning Millionaire Mare Earns Fifth Career Stakes Win
BALTIMORE – Stonestreet Stables and Peter Leidel’s Grade 2-winning millionaire mare Zeitlos, making her 5-year-old debut, wrested the lead away from Striker Has Dial in mid-stretch and went on to a 1 ½-length victory in Saturday’s $125,000 Skipat at Pimlico Race Course.
The 32nd running of the Skipat for fillies and mares three and up sprinting six furlongs was the second of 10 stakes, five graded, worth $3.3 million in purses on a spectacular 14-race program headlined by the historic 150th Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
It was the second win of the day for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen following Booth in the $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3). Asmussen previously won the Skipat with Vertical Oak (2018) and Joy’s Rocket (2022).
Zeitlos, unraced since running seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) Nov. 2 at Del Mar, settled off a 23.48-second opening quarter-mile set by 18-1 longshot Disco Ebo and began to move up midway around the far turn after the half went in 46.49. Zeitlos and jockey Jose Ortiz moved up to even terms approaching the eighth pole before drawing clear to win in 1:11.20 over a fast main track.
Even-money favorite One Magic Filly made a late run to get within a half-length of runner-up Striker Has Dial and finish third, followed by Disco Ebo, Happy Clouds and defending champion Apple Picker. Admiral Hopper was scratched.
Zeitlos is a Stonestreet-bred daughter of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin. The win was her ninth from 18 starts and fifth in a stakes, including the TCA (G2) last fall at Keeneland.
Bred in Connecticut, Skipat won 26 of 45 career races over six years, earning $614,215 in purses between 1977 and 1981. Two of her wins came in the Barbara Fritchie (G3), in 1979 and 1981, the latter coming the year after she had been retired and bred and brought back to the races.
$125,000 Skipat Quotes
Winning Trainer Steve Asmussen (Zeitlos) — “I thought this was the perfect spot to start her season. And she’s as fast as ever, if not faster. Curlin filly, better with age. She’s all class. Huge win. We obviously want to get back to the Breeders’ Cup with her. We’ll work from there backwards. We started a little later this year so we can be stronger at the end. I was surprised she wasn’t favorite. I mean, she’s 8 for 17 in her career and made $1 million.”
Winning Jockey Jose Ortiz (Zeitlos) — “A perfect trip. She broke great and put me a lot closer than I thought she would. That really helped me a lot. Steve (trainer Asmussen) told me she would probably be a little bit sharper today coming off the layoff. She put herself in there without being rushed. She does not like to be rushed. Doing it by herself allowed her to be a lot more patient and I was ready to go whenever I wanted to.”
(Concerned with the layoff): “Not when you have a trainer like Steve. He is a Hall of Famer for a reason. When he leads one down here, it’s because they are ready to go. I was very happy with her performance today.”