Laurel’s Safely Kept Stakes all Hot City Girl

By Sarah Mace

Following a summer freshening and the addition of blinkers this fall, 3-year-old Hot City Girl is going from strength to strength, capping a three-race winning streak on Saturday at Laurel Park by toying with the field of the $100,000 Safely Kept Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on her way to an eight-plus length frontrunning victory.

Trained by Linda Rice for Sheila Rosenblum’s Lady Sheila Stable, and a half-sister to La Verdad, who is enjoying such success for the same connections, Hot City Girl posted a breakthrough graded stakes victory by open lengths in the Charles Town Oaks on September 19. Then, just 16 days before shipping to Laurel for the Safely Kept, she trounced open company in a sprint allowance at Belmont for a career-top Beyer of 92.

Hot City Girl was reunited with Cornelio Velasquez on Saturday for the first time since the filly broke her maiden in state-bred company in her second start a year ago almost to the day. Bet down to a formidable 1-2 in the field of 10, and drawn mid-pack in post four to go seven furlongs, Hot City Girl weathered a slight bump at the break with Gypsy Judy in the stall to her inside, but it was all smooth sailing from there.

Leading at every point of call while racing just off the fence, Hot City Girl extended her lead over pace-presser Eloquent Tribute from a half-length to four lengths, while ticking off a sizzling half-mile in 45.49 and completing six furlongs in 1:09.97. Despite drifting some in the stretch, she finished straight and true under a vigorous hand ride 8 1/4 lengths in front of runner up and 5-1 second choice Stroke Play. Paulassilverlining completed the trifecta. The final time was 1:22.70.

From her fifth career win and second stakes victory, in addition to two second-place finishes, Hot City Girl’s earnings stand at a robust $455,150.

Bred by Eklektikos Stable LLC, and foaled, like La Verdad, at Chester and Mary Broman’s Chestertown Farm in Chestertown, Hot City Girl is another feather in the cap of her dam Noble Fire, a stakes-placed runner bred by Chester and Mary Broman also trained by Rice.

Rice bought Noble Fire for Eklektikos for $115,000 at the 2007 OBS Spring sale of 2-year-olds in training. In addition to multiple graded stakes winner and $1.6 million earner La Verdad, who most recently finished second in Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and Hot City Girl, Noble Fire is the dam of eight-time winner N. F.’s Destiny, has earned over $300,000. Altogether, the mare’s progeny have earned over $2.4 million.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2015/11/14/safely-kept-hot-city-girl/

---