Plum Pretty's 7 1/2-length romp in the $750,000 Cotillion S. (
VIDEO) Oct. 1 at Parx Racing served noticed that the Bob Baffert trained 3-year-old filly is back in the form she had in the spring when she won the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. The victory also made the Peachtree Stable owned filly racing's newest millionaire.
Plum Pretty, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, wasted no time getting to the front right out of the gate. She was tested for the first six furlongs by Love and Pride, who sat just to her outside. After three-quarters of a mile in a solid 1:10.70, Plum Pretty began to pull away with no urging from her rider. She continued to pour it on in the stretch, getting the 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.19 with Bejarano wrapping up on her late.
The Cotillion win was worth $430,500, boosting her career bankroll to $1,296,700. She owns a lifetime mark of 4-2-2 in nine starts. She burst onto the scene early in the spring with a eye-popping 25 length victory in the $200,000 Sunland Park Oaks.
“She was really training well for this race,” Baffert said. “Saratoga was so demanding. She had trouble getting over that track. When I got her back here, all of a sudden she turned a corner again. She trained like she was before the (Kentucky) Oaks.”
Baffert didn’t rule out a trip back to Churchill for the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1), but said Plum Pretty’s participation would depend on how she came out of the Cotillion and trained in coming weeks.
“If she’s training like she did, we’d have to consider it,” he said. “I can tell when she’s really on her game.”