Contested sets stakes record in G3 Eight Belles

Contested, owned by Bob Baffert's wife Jill, drew off to a 4 3/4-length victory in the $110,000 Eight Belles S. May 4 at Churchill Downs, setting a stakes record of 1:21.29 for the seven furlongs. The previous stakes record of 1:21.97 was established by Roxelana in 2000.

Sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies, Contested was forwardly placed from the outset while just off the pace set by Good Deed. The early leader began to wilt after a very fast half mile in :44.37, and Contested, under Martin Garcia, forged to the front coming into the stretch. Contested wasn't challenged in the final quarter mile and pulled away for a comfortable victory.

“I could tell by the way Martin (Garcia) was riding that he had a lot of confidence in this filly. Being on the outside gave him a lot of options of what he could do and what he wanted to do.

“It was a nice win even though they didn’t have Jill’s colors on. They gave her the option of choosing some yellow and orange silks they had in the jock’s room and Mike Pegram’s silks. So she said, ‘Give me Mike’s silks, they’re pretty lucky.”

Contested earned $66,154 for the victory and boosted her bankroll to $144,754 with her third consecutive victory and first in a stakes. Her overall record is 4-3-1-0.