Shotgun Hottie delivers as surprise favorite in Lady’s Secret Stakes

Paco Lopez and his agent evidently knew. And so, in the end, did a plurality of the betting public, who made Shotgun Hottie the surprise favorite in the $100,000 Lady’s Secret Stakes and cashed a $5 win mutuel when she strolled to an easy victory Saturday at Monmouth Park.

Lopez had ridden Leader of the Band to a second-place finish last out at Monmouth in the Serena’s Song Stakes, but on Saturday it was Abner Adnorno on Leader of the Band and Lopez taking the mount on Shotgun Hottie, beaten more than five lengths by Leader of the Band in the Serena’s Song. The tables most definitely turned in the Lady’s Secret.

The race unfolded at an absolute crawl, Signal From Noise leading through an opening quarter-mile in 25.16 seconds. Just outside her came Shotgun Hottie, whom Lopez took to the lead with a full six furlongs remaining. The half-mile split was 49.33 and six furlongs went in 1:12.84, easy fractions by Monmouth standards, and Shotgun Hottie, who’d dictated tempo, had plenty left for the stretch run. She sprinted clear of the chasing pack and cruised to the wire, winning by about 5 1/2 lengths while stopping the timer in 1:43.64 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track.

It was a blanket finish for second, Signal From Noise earning the place, with Miss New York third and Leader of the Band fourth. Cherie DeVaux trains Shotgun Hottie for Omar Aldbabagh and Jeff Ganje. Bred in Kentucky by Vincent Colbert, 4-year-old Shotgun Hottie is by Gun Runner out of Re Entry, by Malibu Moon.