Kept Waiting splashes through the slop to win Sunday’s Broadway Stakes at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.
By Tom Law
Robert Falcone Jr. wasted little time running Kept Waiting back after a successful debut on the dirt – seven days to be exact – and the 5-year-old mare rewarded her trainer with a victory in Sunday’s $100,000 Broadway Stakes at Aqueduct.
Kept Waiting won the 6-furlong Broadway in her stakes debut as the 2-1 second choice, tracking the loose-on-the-lead speed of multiple stakes winner Sadie Lady early before giving her six opponents the slip in the stretch on the way to a 5 1/2-length score over Time Limit. Breakfastatbonnies, the 6-5 favorite, finished third with Letmetakethiscall fourth. Kept Waiting and jockey Manny Franco won in 1:12.81 over the main track labeled sloppy after morning and lingering afternoon snow in the New York Metropolitan area on Super Bowl Sunday.
The winner of two of four starts last year, Kept Waiting won a 6-furlong state-bred turf optional Dec. 2 to close her 2022 season. She didn’t race again until winning a 6-furlong open-company allowance Feb. 6 at Aqueduct, her first try on dirt in 10 starts.
“She definitely has moved forward,” Falcone said. “We gave her some time off last year after her race in April and she came back in good shape. She needed that first race off the layoff, but after that she was fit enough. She’s always trained well so hopefully she keeps the same form.”
Even though Kept Waiting never raced much closer than a month between starts, Falcone wasn’t concerned.
“I figured we would take things day-by-day, she was coming back quick,” Falcone said. “I did the same thing with Maiden Beauty when she won the Bay Ridge in December, so we wanted to get over this race first. I’m not even looking to March. She ran a few hard races and after coming back in six days and winning like that, she deserves a little break. I’m not going to rush her. I’ll see how she comes around and go from there.”
Sadie Lady and Kendrick Carmouche were aggressive from the start, zipping away from the field and opening up 4 1/2 lengths to the opening quarter-mile in :22.69. Time Limit, Kept Waiting and Breakfastatbonnies chased to that point, before slicing into the lead approaching the half in :46.68.
Kept Waiting and Franco got first run on the leader, passed her into the lane and quickly opened up. They led by 3 lengths past the eighth pole and continued to draw away late. Time Limit finished a half-length in front of Breakfastatbonnies, who was a length clear of Letmetakethiscall. Chasing Cara, Sadie Ladie and Awillaway completed the field.
“She can run on both surfaces and she impressed me because of the way she ran her last two races and today in the company of better horses,” Franco said. “To do it this way was impressive. If I wanted, I could have kept opening up, but I didn’t want to beat her up and I knew I had the win already, so I just saved some for next time. It was perfect. I was able to be where I wanted to be behind the speed and at the five-sixteenths pole, I just tapped her on the shoulder and she was there for me.”
Bred by John Lauriello, Kept Waiting is the fourth foal out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Orient Moon. A $320,000 purchase by George Bolton at the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale, Orient Moon won two of eight starts with two thirds for $70,660 for Bolton and partners and trainer Todd Pletcher.
Lauriello purchased Orient Moon as a broodmare prospect for $25,000 at the 2013 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Kept Waiting was originally sold through Indian Creek to Jerry Coult Partners for $65,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. Kept Waiting half-brother by Practical Joke sold for $250,000 to Klaravich Stable at last year’s Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale.
Kept Waiting started her career for Joseph Bulger and trainer Kelsey Danner, finishing fourth in a 1 1/16-mile state-bred maiden in June 2020 at Belmont Park. Transferred to Mike Miceli after that effort, Kept Waiting finished second in back-to-back similar spots during the 2020 Saratoga Race Course meeting before Falcone claimed her for $40,000 for Goldfarb Sept. 24, 2020 at Belmont Park.
Kept Waiting won her first start for Falcone, Goldfarb and Nice Guys Stable a month later going 7 furlongs on the grass.
She improved to 5-for-11 with the Broadway victory and boosted her bankroll to $266,600.
