Longshot Angel’s South wins eighth race at Saratoga Race Course
Bettors partial to grays, and who are willing to back them no matter what the odds, were rewarded in Monday’s eighth race when Monmouth shipper Angel’s South went gate to wire in the one-mile turf allowance to score at 34-1.
The 5-year-old Tale of the Cat mare, out of Rahab, by Holy Bull, benefited from starting from the number 1 post, as well as from jockey Paco Lopez’s success at getting away with tepid fractions (three-quarters in 1:13.51). Fantasy of Flight was never more than a half-length back, but when she moved up to challenge inside the sixteenth pole, Angel South had plenty left, kicking away in the final yards to prevail by a half-length. The running time was 1:35.74 over “firm” going.
The victory was Angel South’s sixth from 13 starts, and the $57,000 winner’s purse upped her career earnings to $150,513. Andrew Mitchell conditions the winner for O. Alberto Acosta.