America’s Tale Upsets Inside Information At Gulfstream

Fair Grounds shipper America’s Tale may have taken many bettors by surprise when she pulled off an 11-1 upset victory in Saturday’s $200,000 Inside Information (G2), but owner Naveed Chowhan and trainer Bernie Flint are no strangers to winning graded stakes at Gulfstream Park.

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Chowhan, who posed for pictures in the winner’s circle following America’s Tale’s 1 ¼-length triumph in the seven-furlong stakes for older fillies and mares, got his first taste of graded-stakes success at Gulfstream in the 2000 Deputy Minister Stakes (G3).

“Actually, the very first stakes race that I won was at Gulfstream. I used to have a horse many years ago by the name of Deep Gold. He was a sprinter also,” Chowhan said. “He was trained by Bernie Flint also. Bernie and I have been together for all these years and he’s put all the hard work into these horses and it’s paid off.”

America’s Tale won her first graded stakes in the Inside Information while winning her third stakes in her last four starts. The 4-year-old daughter of Gio Ponti, whose prior stakes victories were achieved in front-running fashion, was taken off the pace by jockey Paco Lopez, who positioned the Kentucky-bred filly in an outside stalking position. Razorback Lady set the pace along the backstretch, posting fractions of 22.68 and 45.94 seconds for the first half mile, with Tequilita, the 9-5 favorite, in hot pursuit.

Razorback Lady and Tequilita waged a head-to-head battle into the stretch, where America’s Tale loomed boldly while making quick progress to their outside. The Louisiana shipper continued on and drew off to her fourth win in her last five starts.

“I was a little concerned because she usually likes to run out front and she wasn’t out front in the beginning. But Paco thought she would rather like the outside instead of being inside horses and I think he was right,” Chowhan said. “She’s been really good for us. She’s been training great. For the past couple months, we couldn’t find a race near New Orleans for her, so this is her distance and we’re glad we shipped her down here.”

America’s Tale ran seven furlongs in 1:24.08.

“The owner said to me, ‘Send her, I want her 1 or 2,’ but my filly didn’t want to go inside. I took her outside and sat outside horses and in the stretch, when I asked her I had plenty of horse,” Lopez said. “She’s a very nice filly.”

Razorback Lady finished second under Julien Leparoux, a head in front of Tequilita and jockey Luis Saez.